Curing LR does it stink?

[untamed]

Well...it is all about different opinions...so here goes.

Before you read below...understand that I am talking about setting up a new system....NOT adding additional LR to an existing system. That is a very different story.

I don't cure live rock. If you can get good quality live rock, that has been out of the ocean for as little time as possible...it gets to you with minimal die off and doesn't require "curing".

If you are starting a new tank, I try to establish some biological filtration using bioballs and dead seafood, then add the LR directly to your system with the lights running. The bioballs are there to absorb any ammonia that any decay on the rocks is producing. As the LR becomes the system filter, the bioballs are eventually removed completely. The lights are running because some of the life needs light to survive. (ie. some coral)

This provides the best chance of keeping as much alive on the rock as possible.

[Oscar]

Originally Posted by untamed

Well...it is all about different opinions...so here goes.

I don't cure live rock. If you can get good quality live rock, that has been out of the ocean for as little time as possible...it gets to you with minimal die off and doesn't require "curing".

This provides the best chance of keeping as much alive on the rock as possible.

I am awaiting delivery of my first tank I hadn't considered the stink factor that I might encounter. This tank will be placed in the living room so it is paramount that I minimize the stink.

It seems to me that part of the fun of stating a new tank with new LR is discovering the hitch hikers that arrive. So curing in a dark place could actually kill more hitch hikers and create more stink.

I will be ordering LR from the Lower Mainland. How often do the main suppliers receive new LR that has been out of the ocean for a very short time?

To cut down on stink how will this proposal work:

1. Order new live rock
2. Add bioballs to help speed up the curing process
3. Light the tank to keep hitchhiking corals etc alive
4. Very frequent water changes
5. Buy flowers
   
   

[/list]

[Oscar]

To cut down on stink how will this proposal work:

1. Install live sand
2. Order new live rock
3. Add bioballs to help speed up the curing process
4. Light the tank to keep hitchhiking corals etc alive
5. Very frequent water changes
6. Buy flowers
   
   

[/list][/quote]

[untamed]

If you are interested in using bioballs to reduce the strain on your LR, you need to cycle your tank using bioballs BEFORE introducing the LR. That means getting water flowing over the bioballs and introducing some kind of ammonia source (like a raw dead fish from the grocery store - stink is probably unavoidable). Watch the cycle progress (ammonia,nitrite, nitrate)...then remove the fish and add the LR.

Then you monitor the ammonia,nitrite and nitrate and do water changes as necessary to keep those levels as low as possible.

Over time, you can remove the bioballs from the system. Remove maybe 1/6 every week.

Unfortunately, the LR from LFS has usually made very long trips from the other side of the world. The best you can do is time your pickup to match the day they get it.

[Starry]

I bought some "fresh" LR a few weeks ago, and for the first few days it stunk to high heaven. However, I then put a skimmer(it's working overtime) in and the smell decreased substancially. I have to pretty much put my nose in the tank to smell anything. Still having alot of stuff rotting off. Doing weekly wc's as well. I'd use the largest volume of water you can to cure the rock in.

[Oscar]

Originally Posted by untamed

If you are interested in using bioballs to reduce the strain on your LR, you need to cycle your tank using bioballs BEFORE introducing the LR. That means getting water flowing over the bioballs and introducing some kind of ammonia source (like a raw dead fish from the grocery store - stink is probably unavoidable). Watch the cycle progress (ammonia,nitrite, nitrate)...then remove the fish and add the LR.

That's generally what I had in mind. Get the bioballs inocculated with bacteria then pull the dead fish out and install the LR. The extra life on the bioballs would help in the cycling. Then when cycled pull the bioballs out, some posters have mentioned that they become nitrate sources if detritus builds up.

So does firing up the skimmer right away reduce the stink factor?