How to Cure Your Live Rock Before Placing it in Your Aquarium

Published October 31, 2008 - RSS/XML Feed

By Robert Lashlee

When you place a piece of uncured or even cured (sometimes cured live rock is not all that well cured) live rock in your aquarium for the first time, there will inevitably be some die-off. This die-off will cause organic materials to build up in your tank and can lead to an ammonia spike. The best way to avoid having this ammonia spike impact your tank is to cure your live rock before putting it into your aquarium. This article will walk you through a step-by-step guide to curing your live rock outside of your aquarium.

Considerations

There are several things to consider before you begin the process:

Curing live rock is pretty smelly. Therefore, I would recommend doing it somewhere where this will not be a problem. The garage might be a good place as long as it is not too cold.
If you cannot cure your live rock outside of your aquarium then you can cure it in your aquarium before you start adding things. If you wait and let it cure and go through its ammonia spike before adding your cleaning crew, fish, or coral, your specimens have a much higher rate of survival.
There is no need to put lights over your live rock during the curing process. The light will do nothing, but promote algae blooms.

Directions

Fill a container big enough to hold your live rock with saltwater. For larger amounts of live rock, large plastic tubs work well. Be careful not to fill the container too full as the water level will rise when you add the live rock.
Add a heater to get the water to the appropriate temperature (78 – 80^o F) and a powerhead to circulate and oxygenate the water.
Now you will need to pre-clean the rock. This will speed up the curing process. First get a spray bottle and fill it with saltwater. Then put some gloves on so you do not get hurt while handling the live rock (remember – you do not know what has hitchhiked on your rock). Setup a small bucket of saltwater near where you are going to work. Next place one piece of live rock on a piece of plastic or tarp. Now you are ready to pre-clean the rock. During the process of pre-cleaning the rock, use the spray bottle to keep the rock moist. First investigate each piece for any obvious organisms crawling around inside the pores. Remove anything you find that appears to be a pest (mantis shrimps, aiptasia anemones, bristle worms, crabs, etc.). Be careful when handling these pests as many of them can cause you harm. Once you find and remove the pests that are alive, it is time to remove everything that is dead from the rock. It should be fairly easy to spot dying organisms on the rock. Remove anything you find. Finally, dip the rock in your small bucket and swish it around to remove any final debris. Put the rock in the curing container and move on to your next piece.
Once all of the rocks have been pre-cleaned and placed in our curing container, leave them alone and let them cure. There is nothing really to do except removing debris or dying material from time to time (you can scrub the rock with a toothbrush every couple of days to dislodge any dying material) and doing regular large (60% - 80%) water changes every 3 - 4 days. If you skip these water changes, the ammonia spike can get so high that it will kill your live rock. There is really no set length of time for the rock to cure as it will depend on the quality of the rock among other things (time can be anywhere from a few days to a month). You can usually tell when the curing process is done because the smell will disappear. A more scientific approach is to monitor the ammonia and nitrite spike with test kits. Once both of these compounds are at zero, your rock is cured and ready to be placed in your aquarium.

Conclusion

You should never just add new live rock to your aquarium, especially in large amounts. There is sure to be some die-off and this can wreak havoc on your aquarium parameters. Curing your live rock outside of your aquarium mitigates this problem and ensures that your tank remains a healthy home for its inhabitants.

Further Reading

Read Related Saltwater Aquarium Articles

Saltwater versus Freshwater Aquariums: Learn the arguments for choosing to set-up either a freshwater or saltwater aquarium.
Saltwater Aquariums: A brief introduction to saltwater aquariums. Different categories. Pros and cons.
Reef Aquariums: An overview of the reef aquarium along with a short history. Online reef references.
Setting Up A Saltwater Tank System: What to Consider before Starting. Designing Your Salt-Water System.
The "Do Not Do" List for Saltwater Hobbyists: Learn what "not" to do when starting out with your saltwater fish or reef tank.
What is Protein Skimming?: Learn about protein skimming, why it's important, and which aquarists should use it.
Saltwater Aquarium Filtration: Filtration systems to use. Pros and cons of different systems.
Saltwater Aquarium Lighting and Heating: Kind of lights you need. Type of heating equipment to use.
How to Keep Your Saltwater Aquarium from Overheating: Learn how to keep your saltwater aquarium from overheating.
Saltwater and Reef Tank Cycling: Tips on cycling your fishtank.
Getting The Tank Ready: Creating an ecosystem. Running the tank system.
Creating an Aquascape and Choosing Fish: Creating an aquascape. Deciding on livestock for your tank.
Stocking Salt Water Reef Tanks: Learn how to select the right quantity and combination of fish for your saltwater aquarium.
What Are Good Saltwater Fish For Beginners: What makes a saltwater fish a good candidate for beginners?
Commonly Available Reef-Safe Fish & Invertebrates: Learn about commonly available reef-safe fish and invertebrates that are good candidates for your reef aquarium.
Establishing up a Clean-up Crew in Your Saltwater Aquarium: Learn how to properly select and establish a clean-up crew in a saltwater or reef aquarium.
Saltwater Species That Should Not be Kept by Beginners (and Sometimes not Even by the Experienced): Learn about saltwater animals that beginners (and sometimes experts) should avoid keeping.
Maintaining Your Saltwater Tank: Tips for maintaining a saltwater fish tank.
Getting Rid of Aiptasia in Your Reef Aquarium: Learn about aiptasia in the reef aquarium and how to get rid of it.
How to Remove a Mantis Shrimp From a Saltwater Aquarium: Learn how to properly remove a mantis shrimp from your aquarium.
Saltwater Fish Article Database: Articles on dozens of saltwater fish and appropriate care.

Member Tanks

aeris's fishtank

Description: 125g

Samy's fishtank

Description: My new tank !

fragalicious's fishtank

Description: Full tank shot 2/15/2010

Wisebonzai's fishtank

Description: Lobophytum, Kenya Tree, Chaeto Algae, Sarcophytum, Pink Star Polyps, Green Star Polyps, Encrusting Neon Star Polyps, Neon Green Star Polyps, Purple Gorgonian, Long Tentacled Anemone, Bubble Tipped Anemone, green, Bubble Tipped Anemone, Rose, Cabbage Cup Leather, Cabbage Leather, Finger Leather, Pink Nepthea, Green Hairy Mushrooms, Green Hairy Anemone Mushrooms, Red Hairy Mushrooms w/green tips, Striped Pulsating Xenia, Red Sea Pink Pulsating Xenia, Green Bubble Coral, Green Slimer, Hydrophora, Pink & Green Frogspawn, Hammer, Valentine's Day Massacre Palythoa, Dragon Eyes and Neon Dragon Eyes, Sexy Muthas Zoas and Buttercup Zoas, as well as Green Palys. 65 Gallon AGA, Current Sunpod 2x 150w HQI, LED & Moonlights, Aqua Lifesystems skimmer, CPR Aquafuge Pro refugium, Rio return pump, Maxi-Jet 1200s, Natural Wave wavemaker, Coralife refugium light, CPR overflow box, 100 lbs of Dolomite sand, 25 lbs of aragonite, 5 lbs of oyster shell, 100 lbs of Fiji Rock and 50 pounds of Tonga, soft corals and hard, chller and fish. 2 Gold-Barred Maroon Misbar Clowns 2 Fire Shrimp 2 Target Dragonet Gobies 1 Yellow Tang

TomandTina's fishtank

Description: 125 gallon All Glass Aquarium with matching light oak stand and canopy 3 175 watt Metal Halide 10,000K (UH1-5) Ushio bulbs Metal Halide Assembly- (2) 1 single, 1 double single-(PC) 1 175 watt ballast assmebly: 1.8amp; 1 lamp 216 watt double-(PC) 2 175 watt ballast assembly 120 volt; 1.8amp; 1 lamp; 216watt 2 Power Compact CustomSeaLife Bulbs- (2) 96 watt ultra actinic; twin tube; 10Q base(4 pin); 34overall length; 32.5 bulb only Power Compact Ballast- CustomSeaLife; 2 lamp; 96 watt ballast asembley; 1.45amp; 175 watt; 120 volt Input Pump (Skimmer)- SEN-700GA; 115V/60Hz; 700 gal/h; 13 feet head Output Pump (Return)- CustomSeaLife Velocity T3, model #77830; 800gal/hr, 3 foot head Chiller/UV Pump- Eheim #1048; 158 gal/h; 120v/60Hz Skimmer- E.T.S.S. Evolution 600 UV Sterilizer- Aqua Ultraviolet 25 watt w/ wiper Chiller- ViaAqua model#CC-25; 120volt; 2amp; 1/4 hp Heaters- (2) 300 watt AquaVia titanium heaters Powerheads- (2) powerhead 201 (1) powerhead 802 (1) powerhead 301 Moonlights- Live Rock- 260lbs various types: Caribbean, Tonga, Fiji. Fish: Red Sea Sailfin Tang Pacific Blue Tang Big Longnose Butterflyfish Bicolor Goatfish Flame Angelfish Clark Anemonefish False Percula Anemonefish (2) Maroon Anemonefish Ocellaris Anemonefish (2) Blue Damselfish Yellowtail Blue Damselfish (2) Fire Goby Invertebrates: Brittle Star Turbo Snails Giant Feather Duster Red Legged Hermit Crabs Blue Legged Hermit Crabs Peppermint Shrimp Scarlet Cleaner Shrimp (2) Sand Sifting Star (3) Ricordea Florida Ricordea Yuma Rhodactis cf. mussoides Discosoma carlgreni Mushroom Anemone (red variation) Long Tentacle Anemone Coral: Branching Flowerpot Coral Finger Coral Acropora (birdnest) Hammer Coral Open Brain Coral Trumpet Coral Feather Gorgonian Toadstool Coral Finger Leather Hydnophora pilosa Pipe Organ

Rate My Fish Tank