Curing Live Rock
When acquiring live rock, first you will need to choose which type of live rock you want. Generally your choices are live rock from Florida or live rock from the Pacific (including Tonga, Marshall and Fiji live rock). Once you have decided on the type of live rock, pick it up from the local fish store or have it shipped from an online retailer. If you pick it up, be sure to keep it wet and warm during transport (wet newspaper draped over live rock in a cooler is sufficient for short trips in warm climates). When you get it home, begin the curing process immediately. Likewise, if the live rock is shipped to you, open it immediately and begin the curing process at once.
“But wait!” you say. “I purchased cured live rock. Do I really have to cure it again?”
It depends who you talk to, but few experienced aquarists would add newly purchased live rock to their existing aquarium, even if the live rock was already cured. This is different, of course, for a new aquarium set-up. In a new set-up, the rock can be safely cured in the new tank because there are no animals that would be killed by the toxic levels of ammonia created during the curing process. For an existing tank, the live rock should always be cured in a separate container until such time as the ammonia level has fallen off to non-toxic levels.
The reason it is necessary to cure cured live rock is that there almost certainly will be some damage to organisms living on the rock during transport, and you need to allow any die-off (and the resulting ammonia spike) of damaged organisms to occur in an environment where other tank inhabitants will not be poisoned.
While there are many ways to cure live rock, the following method is a proven one. Curing live rock can take anywhere from several days to three weeks, so be patient—the end result will be well worth it.
- Fill a 30-gallon plastic tub or garbage bin with saltwater (generally pre-mixed synthetic saltwater). Make sure to mix up more saltwater immediately as you will be doing frequent partial water changes.
- Install a heater and one or two powerheads and perhaps an air stone.
- Bring the water to 80 degrees F, and turn on the powerheads so that the water is circulating. The curing live rock needs to be in warm, well-oxygenated water with plenty of current.
- Add the uncured live rock to the tub, making sure that the rock is entirely covered by saltwater.
- Cover the tub. Reducing or eliminating light during the curing process will help deter algae blooms.
- Test for ammonia every three days. If the ammonia levels are still toxic, do a 50% water change.
- Once a week, remove any obviously dead material from the surface of the rock with a toothbrush or small scrub brush and then do a 100% water change.
When the rock is cured, scrub off any dead material and place the rock in the tank. By following this simple procedure, you will be rewarded with healthy live rock that not only looks great but which also is a fantastic biological filter.
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