Live rock

#1 03-12-2008, 02:39 PM

How do you test for copper?

Pan · #2 03-12-2008, 09:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rene

How do you test for copper?

I have a few different copper test kits...i test 3 times during each week of curing. If the test shows ...especially an increase then garbage is where the rock goes. There is a bit of copper in everyones systems though...just a very trace amount.

Puff · #3 03-12-2008, 10:57 PM

if i were to order some liverock from one of the US distributors (heard great things about a couple of them) would i be able to bring it back over the border?

"hi sir. what's in the box."

"umm...rocks."

"rocks?"

"yes...rocks..."

when i went to pick out LR for my first tank i went to OA. not only did janet help me pick out rocks, but she wasnt the least bit ****ed off that i took so long to pick out 28lbs of liverock.lol. i got some beautiful pieces. 2 gorilla crabs, but i got them, 1 aiptasia. i can handle it

i was looking at the rock at JL the other day. didnt seem to have a lot of live on it, but it was uncured, so who knows what could pop up.

i know that lots of ppl like uncured LR, but i kind of prefer cured liverock because it makes things easier, and im not a fan of cooking it.

Pan · #4 03-12-2008, 11:50 PM

With the border anything is possible. sometime you are lucky sometimes you are not.

Puff · #5 03-13-2008, 06:48 AM

man...when i brought my aquapod and a bunch of gear up from the US i had to explain what a friggin aquarium was.

BorderGuard:"what is in there?"
Me: "it's an aquarium, lights, a couple of pumps."
BG: "a what?"
M: "an aquarium."
BG: "huh?"
M: "an aquarium...for fish."
BG: "what?"
M: "it's a glass box."

i wonder if i would need some certificate or other piece of paper saying that it was legally harvested liverock...

#6 03-13-2008, 04:21 PM

Ok, so I bought the rock. About 300 lbs. It had all sorts of stuff growing on it. It looked like hair algae, and aptaisia. I've put it all into a large tupperware container and started to cook it. I have a heater and two powerheads in there. I plan on scrubbing it and doing 100% water changes every week.

I have some questions.

1. What temp should I have it at?
2. What salinity?
3. Anything else I should be doing?
4. How do I get my wife to forgive me for the smell in the garage?

ElGuappo · #7 03-13-2008, 04:41 PM

As far as the first 3 points goe ithink the same as what you want in your tank. as far as #4 you may have to do a lot of butt kissing and flower givin.

fkshiu · #8 03-13-2008, 07:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rene

1. What temp should I have it at?
2. What salinity?
3. Anything else I should be doing?
4. How do I get my wife to forgive me for the smell in the garage?

1. and 2. People have experimented with both higher and lower temps and hypo/hyper salinity when rock cooking. The accounts I've read seem to suggest that the LR is pretty resilient to reasonable swings both ways. Personally, I keep the both temperature and salinity slightly lower than my display tank to save a bit of $ on both salt and electricity and my LR has emerged fine.

3. I also put the tubs on top of a sheet of insulating foam along with the top on to further conserve heat. Lastly, when doing water changes try to swish the water and rocks around and/or give them a good blast with a powerhead to help dislodge more of the crap.

4. It'll stop smelling after a few days to a week. Cured/cooked live rock doesn't smell at all.