That Fish Place Guide: Curing Aquarium Live Rock

[kimikozembower]

thanks for the information

[CaptianSwan]

Is that 80 degrees Fahrenheit?

[hamoon007]

your hot

[Arteolike]

This is "cooking" rock, not curing.

[101brucelee]

No theres not

[themousemaster]

ARE THERE ANY LIVE ROCKS FOR FRESHWATER AQUARIUMS?

[Arteolike]

@themousemaster Check out MARCO rock... Its dead live rock, it's safe for freshwater, there is artificial live rock, buts it ugly and expensive.

[ke70hibino]

Great video but please blink!

[MournelitheCalix]

Here is what I don't get about the "live rock." Live rock in the ocean is truely alive. There is all kinds of invertebrates that make the rock "Live." Then when they take it out of the ocean, they pack it in damp newspaper?? Huh maybe I missed something but I want that invertebrate life too not just the bacteria. I just don't get why these stores take this rock out of the ocean and then wrap it in newspaper.

[ThatPetPlace]

@MournelitheCalix, The bacterial life and microorganisms on the rock, form a solid foundation for a succesfull marine, aquarium. Most "live Rock" is very porous, and is used by many aquarists as their primary biological filter. Even when only transported in wet newspaper, many organisms survive, and will seed the aquarium with life. Transporting rock in water, would be very difficult, because of the weight of doing so, it would be cost prohibitive to ship in this manner for any volume.

[MournelitheCalix]

@ThatPetPlace Again my point is that current process of harvesting live rock deprives the customer of the diversity of organisms that were on that rock. As a customer I want that diversity because it helps make that ecosystem a bit more complete in my tank (and its very interesting to see what life comes out of that rock). What i don't understand is why the live rock isn't packaged with water in order to keep that life on the rock alive. I would pay more for that kind of higher quality rock.

[ke70hibino]

@MournelitheCalix

There's still heaps of life on them even after taking them home from your LFS. If you leave the rocks to get bone dry however, you won't have anything left, but keeping them damp seems to do the job.

[that1guy92]

@MournelitheCalix the bacteria on the live rock helps 2 filter nitrite and nitrates out of the water. the wet news paper keeps the bacteria alive by keeping it wet. if the rock wuz shiped in water the dead plant matter on the rock would leach ammonia into the water an bleach ur live lock and kill it.

[ThatPetPlace]

@famousstunners, sorry, Live rock cannot be used in freshwater. It is populated with saltwater plants and animals that would be killed by and decompose in freshwater. The minerals and chemistry of the rock itself would also change the water chemistry of freshwater. I would recommend artificial corals and rocks or dry base rock that will not change the chemistry of the freshwater (avoid calcium carbonate-based materials).

[samubabe101]

@famousstunners WTF  are you 7

[titaniumkiller]

this sarah chick is hott

[qwerty3885]

when changing the water in the bucket, how much water should you drain out?

[Theoccasionalcoop]

what about the photsynthetic organisms wont they die during the curing?

[ThatPetPlace]

@Theoccasionalcoop - There is usually very little, in terms of photosynthetic organisms, that are going to survive on fresh live rock. It is a bit of a double edge sword in trying to save any coral fragments that may be on the rock. Water quality and nutrient levels during the curing process are going to be quite bad, adding light to these conditions will promote unwanted algae growth on the rock. Macro algae, and coraline algae will survive the process with no or minimal light, and grow back

[donsjuand]

Just what I wanted to know, thanks for posting a concise video and well presented! I'll probably add a small powerfilter that I can use for other things like a QT tank when i do mine.

[keebe2006]

she's hot :)

[br0ken68]

I just bought a piece of uncured rock. Your video helped alot. I'm in the process of making my own base rock, using osyter shells, portland cement and rock salt. Right now I have the rock soaking in freshwater. Once the salt is disolved it makes the rock pourus just like live rock. My question is what is the best way to get coraline algae growing from my live rock to my dry base

[ThatPetPlace]

@br0ken68 - Make sure that you allow the cement based rock ample time to cure in the freshwater, they will leach lime and cause very high pH. Mixing your cured base rock with some natural rock that has coraline algae in the same tank, will promote the coraline algae growth to spread to the whole tank. Make sure that you maintain the proper Calcium, Magnesium, and Alkalinity levels in your water to support new calcification.

[crazybeavers155]

is there a to set up a reef without braking the bank

[WheresWaldoTV]

can people order certain shapes of live rock? cause im designing my tank a certain way

[ThatPetPlace]

@WheresWaldoTV - If you give us a call, we can do our best to find the shapes of rock that you are looking for, as long as it fits in our shipping boxes. For mail order we only sell the rock in box quantities, not individually by the pound. If you are within driving distance of our Lancaster, PA retail store, we have thousands of pounds of rock on hand, and you can hand pick your own rock.

[doRYEmon]

i've bought small pieces of live rock from my local fish store totaling about 2 pounds (very porous). they have been curing it for about 2-3 weeks since they received it, and i brought it home wrapped in plastic bags air tight. if it was transported out of water, does the curing stage reset and i have to recure it completely?

[ThatPetPlace]

@doRYEmon

The first thing that I would do is give the rock a "sniff" test. Rock that is still curing will have a strong pungent odor, cured rock will not have a bad odor to it. I would still recomend keeping it in a separate container to start, Checking the water quality will tell you when the rock is cured and safe to put in your aquarium. The curing process is different for any rock, depending on how much "stuff" is on the rock to start, and how much dies off.

[hatstalker]

no, dont worry about that, the rock is still moist on the inside and will stay like that for about 2 weeks

[masafa1990]

No skimmer of filter??

[ThatPetPlace]

@masafa1990

You can certainly use a skimmer or more filtration when curing rock, this video is meant to be a basic guide, showing what can be done with a minimum of equipment.

[waterpuppy1]

is there anything in the market that can act as a catalyst for curing? also can i use back mounted pumps for the time being when the rocks are ready(i will eventually upgrade to a sump for 55g)

[ThatPetPlace]

@waterpuppy1

You could try adding some live bacteria cultures to the rock, but I don't really know how much that would increase the curing time. The best thing that you can do is the cleaning of the rock with a brush, and changing the water frequently to maximise the removal of decaying organic material. Using a heater is also important, this will increase the metabolism of the bacteria that you are trying to grow, just don't overheat the water, keep it between 78-82 degrees.

[pro194757]

i aint using 'MY toothbrush'

[ThatPetPlace]

If the rock is coming out of an established aquarium or curing tank, it should be cured already and be safe to be placed in an established aquarium directly. If you are unsure about it's condition, ask the source, they should know how long the rock has been established/curing. As long as the rock is kept moist in transit it should be viable.

[BAFC14]

Do you need to cure live rock if it was allready cured in an aquarium and is not being shipped?

[ThatPetPlace]

Use the best quality water that you have available to mix your saltwater with, tap water is fine as long as you dechlorinate it first. A bucket will work fine to cure your rock in, just use some small circulation pumps to move the water around with.

[tvshowuploader3]

HI what kind of water to use to cure live rocks in a bucket is it tap or RO water hmhmhmhmh? is it ok If I can use a bucket to put my live rocks in it to be cure?

[gaz691]

hi, im looking to set up a marine or salt water tank but realy dont want live rock but have been told that you need to as its a good fileration device, as im a beginner ide like just a basic set up, can u segest a good starting point pls? thanks for taking time to answer me

gaz

[ThatPetPlace]

You can set up a marine aquarium without the use of liverock, you just need to make sure that the filtration that you choose has a good biological filtration compent to it. There are many choices available. Live Rock is an excellent natural biological filter, but you can set up a succesful marine aquarium without using it.

Thanks,

Dave

[manojsam79]

this girl have never blinked through the whole time

:)

[akcessdenied]

Nope! I'm putting it strait into my tank with out scrubbing, nah just kidding... Great video.

[iJonel]

do you have to do this if you buy live rock that was on an aquarium in a pet store?

[ThatPetPlace]

Not if the rock was transferred immediately and was in the display for awhile. Curing is important for freshly harvested rock.

[sidewaysonhighways]

That is one step I didn't take when I added live rock to my tank. I willdo that when I pick up my saltwater fetish someday.

[Bozzulu]

Can you do the same for freshwater?

[youmantube22]

no... this is rock probably from fiji. (ocean) lol

[agung1985]

80 degree celcius? or fahrenheit? because for celcius i cant find aquarium heater that able to heat 80 celcius

[ThatPetPlace]

Sorry for not clarifying that. The temperature is in Fahrenheit. Thanks for your observation.

[carloslori]

wow are you serious?

make sure the aquarium water is almost boiling........seriously? lolololololololololol

[justinwwwalin]

i wish i knew a girl who knew fish stuff lol

[pscans321]

very cool

[nwyk153]

oh boy... she's pretty. ;p

[reptilemorphs]

lol