Tankerini

I love the Purple Coralline Algae on Live Rock

When buying "Live rock" should there be coralline algae on it already?
When you buy Live Rock how do you know How live it really is?
I know you can see how it looks if you buy from the LFS (normally the more expensive route) but if you go direct to a supplier how do you tell the difference once you get your package; Things to look out for, colours? Please describe how to tell the difference between, uncured, pre-cured and cured Rock by just looking at it.

Also how to encourage coralline algae to grow on your rock?

Sorry Im posting threads like theres no tomorrow, but I just want to get as much information as possible before setting up what will be my first sw tank. (and of course before making any purchases).

agsansoo

Hi, Have you read this article yet ?

http://www.fishlore.com/live_rock.htm

Tankerini

Yeah I read that already, so I assume that the more purple stuff on it the more live it is. The more dull it looks I shall steer clear. Sorry if I seem to ask the obvious but I just like to make sure!

Tumbleweed

A easy way to tell is to smell it. If it smells clean or like salt water it is cured. If it smells fowl or rotting it is uncured.

Tankerini

Brilliant! Now that makes the most sense of all... I mean generally when things are not well and healthy (or past there exipry date lol) they just dont smell right!

Thanks Tumbleweed

blossom112

I have baught both cheap and expensive and have found the more expensive to have the most color (bright colors)and less white .
Good luck!

agsansoo

I cook all new live rock before I stick it in my tank. After this process, the rock turns white. So the amount of coralline algae it has on it doesn't matter when you buy live rock, it will turn purple with time and the right water parameters.

Tankerini

Sorry what do you mean you cook it before you put it in the main tank?
If its what I think it is (boil) your probably laughing at me now
Wont that kill all the little critters that live in it? Why do you do that anyway?

I can understand putting it in quarantine incase it has any nasties in there i.e mantis shrimp!!!

Also I was going to cycle my tank with my pre-cured live rock is this ok?

blossom112

If you are going to cycle cured rock you might as well get uncureed as this will help with cycling .
When i cycled my 90 gl i just baught 100lbs of uncured and cycled it with that , then i decided i wanted more rock and added another 100lbs of uncured and did a doubl cycle .
OK yeh im nutts but i was new and needed to understand the cycling and needed more LR .

Boiling kills everything and when you have an established tank it dont matter much if you kill it as it will sead fast anyway .
But then might be cheaper to just buy base rock boil that and stick it in main .
you could even add some base to your cycle (on the bottom).
Yeh im cheap too lol
i have just added 25 to 30 lbs of base .

Tankerini

Its funny how sometimes you get very different opinions. Firstly I am gonna get the best of everything (no Im not rich lol) but I would just rather sit it out and wait until I have the money to buy better (even though patience is not one of my strengths) but I'm working towards long term success not short term enjoyment with a crash.

I have a tank that is not even set up, so when I get my equipment I will be doing my "virgin" tank cycle. So as for doing a cycle with uncured rock, I would of thought thats a no no. I thought having live rock may be beneficial to a cycle, what with all the little organisims or whatever they are within the rock.

Tankerini

Just wondering, is it because you already have live rock in your tank so now you cook any other rock you put inside the tank. Or have you done it from the word go?

Oil_Fan

Cycling your tank using uncured rock or partially cured rock is a very good way of cycling. Things on the rock die off, creating ammonia and so on. You just take your readings until you 0 for ammonia, nitrite and nitrate. Then you know your tank is all cycled.

Tankerini

Ok makes sense, and saves money! Decisions, descions

Tankerini

I read somewhere that curing live rock was a smelly process and seeing as the tanks will be in my living/sitting room (or whatever you call it over there). I didnt wanna be chilling with a glass of wine watching a bit of tv with an awful stink in the room

Oil_Fan

The initial rock I had was practically already cured so I never really had that issue. Is the top you have for your tank enough to block out most of the odor?

Tankerini

Hmmm not sure I would want to find out that it don't lol...But yeah its a sturdy old lid thats for sure. It really is quite an old fashioned tank I was given by my aunt but Im gonna stick with it, I would rather put the money towards skimmer and live rock etc than splash out on a new tank.

varder

What I did is that my tank when I added the live rock for the first time the filter was running already in it so that helps to keep the smell from going outside (even when I was curing the rock on a bucket I added an air stone to keep the water moving, never got any bad smells) , but that was with no fish at all just live rock, live sand and water in the tank.

Good luck!!

agsansoo

Sorry I took so long to answer !

"Cooking" live rock is a term often used in the reefkeeping hobby. It means simply to cure the rocks in a no light zone. Cooking and curing rock is very good. Most of the stuff you do not want dies, most of the stuff you want survives. The goal is, we are trying to change the natural filtration system from an algae dominate machine to a bacteria driven machine.

Think of your live rock as a sponge filter. Over time it gets clogged with all kinds of detritus and bad gunk. Cooking the rock will get all this out of your rock.