Use salt water to cure dry rock? (1 Viewer)

[RobertP]

Read a lot of stories about curing rock but dont recall them actually saying to cure them in salt water. I am assuming I need to mix up some salt water to use for curing dry rock correct?

Had to shut down my tank back in July 2018 when we sold our house and the new house is about 6-8 months away from being done. I have 3 rubbermaid cans with about 100lbs of pulkani and reefsafe rock that has been sitting dry for months. My plan was to mix up some water and put in each of these cans with the rock. Add a heater and pump to each and throw in some food every few weeks. Technically I am cycling the rock by itself right? I could change the water every month or two. I am guessing it will smell pretty bad so debating whether I want the cans in my shop or not. Its going to get pretty hot in there over the summer but at least they wont be in direct sunlight.

I was debating setting up my tank in the shop to get a head start on the cycling but still dont have permanent power to it yet. I am currently running a 100ft power cord from the power pole.

 

[steveb]

Gig'Em!

I guess it really depends on what your goals are.

If its to remove trapped phosphates from the rock then you will need to be performing regular water changes or using lanthium chloride (to bind w/phosphate) or ferric oxide (to absorb/bind phosphate).

If its simply to establish nitrifying bacteria you can go your route to do that but keep in mind there are products that can aid with quick cycling (Dr. Tims, Fritz, etc. etc.). But keep in mind that neither method will avoid the algae cycle that tanks go through to some extent.


Me personally I would use saltwater. I would probably perform water changes every week for the 1st month, then once a month afterwards. I would feed the containers, you can also use regular ammonia (no soaps/perfumes). Each time I do a water change I would use another container to swish the rocks in to release any detritus stuck on them. If you let it cycle for a couple of weeks and perform a phosphate test and its high then I would start doing more frequent water changes and/or using products to lower the phosphate level.

 

[sneezebeetle]

I cure in saltwater. Put my rocks in a brute can with a htr, powerhead, and ghost feed every other day and let them do their thing. But I also make sure I don't wait till the last minute to start cycling them. I give myself a good 4-6 weeks before I think I will be ready for them, anything after that is just bonus time.

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