live rock

[bcollins]

what is the difference between cured and uncured live rock. we just set up our second tank

70 gallon
80 lbs live sand
a few damsels.
hang on filter sized for 125 gallons with built in skimmer
325 gpm power head

i ordered carribean live rock from etropicals.com. great shapes, some corraline and lots of macro algea and 'stuff' growing on it.

we put the rock in today at about noon. it smelled pretty bad, but i didn't want to rinse off all the good stuff. the rock was very brittle and muddy (like a grey paste on it). the water clouded up immediately - i thought from the mud, but it hasn't settled out.

when i got home from work all the damsels were dead!

is this a biological burst? or do you think they suffocated?

[mogurnda]

When live rock is transported, a lot of the stuff can die. If you buy "cured" rock, it has been kept in a facility where the die-off can occur without hurting anything. My guess is that the damsels died of a massive ammonia spike from the dead stuff that was rotting on and in the rock. Your tank is now on its way through its cycle, and will be ready for fish when your ammonia and nitrite have gone to zero.

To help you through the process, there are some excellent books. Fenner's Conscientious Marine Aquarist and Tullock's Natural Reef Aquariums are both really helpful for developing an understanding of the workings of marine tanks. OrionGirl has another one that she likes, but I have forgotten the name.

[DEmigh]

Sorry about the damsels :sad

How about a new name for uncured liverock? I propose: badly-wounded rock.

[OrionGirl]

The Simple Guide to Keeping series of books--one for marine, freshwater, goldfish, etc. Very good books.

[jhrivera]

I just got the "Simple Guide to Marine Aquariums" book. I decided to check it out since Oriongirl highly recommended it. It's a great book. Nicely put together. I ordered it from Amazon.com for about $12.50. Great bargain considering my lfs tried to sell it to me for $22.

[seahorse]

I bought the same rock. I rinsed it in saltwater and brushed off the dead stuff. Two days later I tested my water and all the readings are fairly low. This is the fourth day. Should I had damsels to help out the cycle?

[geno7]

I was thinking of ordering this same rock. Is it worth ordering or should I hold out for cured live rock?

[bcollins]

i got this rock pretty cheap, $3 a pound delivered to my door. it smells pretty bad and the ammonia burst is off the charts. there's about 10% coverage with the corraline algea - less than expected given the pictures shown (naturally). BUT (big but), the shapes are outrageous.

im afraid though that the major ammonia burst has killed off any critters or vegetation that might be/have been present.

in day 3 of the cycle. assuming everything dies and massive ammonia gives me a great bacterial base to start the tank off - i'd buy this rock again.

i'd take a picture but you cant see anything through the london like fog!

[geno7]

I ordered rock from etropicals on Saturday 01/10/04 and received it today. The rock from etropicals is very much worth the price of $3.74 per pound and this includes overnight shipping. I expected to get rock with thick mud on the bottom, but it was fairly clean. The shapes of the rock are beautiful and unique. I was impressed at the amount I received for the weight. The rock is very lightweight for the size of each rock. Great Deal!!!!!!!

www.etropicals.com

[Kurt]

I have never heard of getting rock that is muddy. Actually I ordered uncured rock one time and I think it actually came cured.
From JLAquatics. Even uncured rock should come somewhat cleaned up shouldn't it?????? Not sure what to expect. Any comments?

[Cearbhaill]

If price per pound is the criteria, my Tampa Bay Saltwater package is the deal of the century.

I got 100 lbs live (and I mean live!) sand and 200 lbs very live rock- the sand was only $1 a pound and live rock $3. Add shipping to the equation and my live rock still just cost me $3.60 per pound.

And if I spread the shipping around to cover the sand and the clean up critters then the per lb price of the live rock drops even further.

You can figure these things 10 different ways but for me the TBS package won hands down. It's hard to fork over that much money at one go but no one ever said this was a cheap hobby. And now I don't have to spend additional bucks on a clean up crew- it's included. Works for me.