Care to enlighten me? (cooking LR)

OCDP · #1 03-31-2006, 03:46 PM

So what exactly is cooking live rock all about? What's the purpose? Is it to remove all the nasties and nuisance algaes? Or am I way off?

How does one go about doing this? Do you need to re-cure the rock after cooking?

Just looking for a mini crash course on cooking live rock.

TIA

Xtasia · #2 03-31-2006, 04:12 PM

I like mine with Capers and a Bolognaise sauce.

dirtyreefer · #3 03-31-2006, 04:46 PM

Be careful not to set your over past 400 degrees. It will burn the rock!

OCDP · #4 03-31-2006, 04:52 PM

Haha...

Is there anyone out there that can actually help me out here? Looking for info.. what it's all about, what the purpose is, how to do it, etc..

Thanks.

Beverly · #5 03-31-2006, 05:29 PM

Here's RC's looooooong thread on rock cooking....

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/sh...5&pagenumber=1

christyf5 · #6 03-31-2006, 05:33 PM

Basically you're putting the rock in the dark with water and a heater to kill off the algae, then doing water changes to export any excess nutrients that are shed by both the dying algae and that may be leaching out of the rock. A lot of people do this for 6-8 months or longer, I've done it for 3-4 months with success in killing the algae but have never tested to see if phosphates are leaching from the rock.

danny zubot · #7 03-31-2006, 05:43 PM

Seems like a lot of work for something that can also be achieved with a pressure washer.

I've always wondered why people would want to kill off ALL of the bacteria that the rock contains. A good rinse in RO/Di water is all I've ever done to new live rock and Ive never had an issue with it.

OCDP · #8 03-31-2006, 05:43 PM

Bev,

Thanks for the link

Thanks for the info as well christy.

vanreefer · #9 03-31-2006, 07:11 PM

I don't think it kills the bacteria it just allows the bacteria to metabalize the nitrates and phosphates that leach from the rock as the algea dies... this is how I understand it... but correct me if I am wrong

fkshiu · #10 03-31-2006, 08:33 PM

That's my understanding of it as well. The metabolisation process results in a lot of sloughing off of detritus and other crap. That's why you swish the container and change out the water every so often.

With the algae gone and the trapped detritus released, there's actually a far better environment and far more surface area for nitrifying bacteria to colonize. The bacteria you have doesn't die because it doesn't need light and the rock is continuously immersed in heated water with aerated with a powerhead.

The process is not designed for "new" live rock, but rock that's been in a tank for a while slowly collecting detritus and building up algae.

It's amazing how much crap is trap in your live rock. I did it myself over several months and each week the entire bottom of the container was filled with junk.

You cannot do the same with pressure washing because that doesn't get to the crap stuck deep inside the live rock and no nitrates/phosphates are metabolised. As well, you're killing the existing nitrifying bacteria by blasting the rock with fresh water.