Curing Live Rock - How to Cure Rock Taken From the Ocean, Part 2

Live rock is used to create reef-like structures in both saltwater fish and reef aquariums. Since the rock is collected directly from oceans around the world it is inhabited with algae, animals, plants, bacteria and more. When it is shipped, some of the animal and plant life on the rock are damaged. These rocks must be cured or cleaned before they are safe to put with fish and invertebrates.

The rock arrives in a Styrofoam box usually wrapped in wet newspaper to keep it moist. Prepare a bucket of premixed saltwater to a specific gravity between 1.020 to 1.024.

1. Remove the rock from the box carefully. If you wish, wear rubber gloves. Look for any bristleworms that may be hanging partially out of the rock. These worms can sting or bite so use tweezers to remove them.
2. Dip the rock into the bucket of premixed salt water to remove any loose debris. Look for any white, slimy areas or decaying areas. Any decay should be removed with a brush. If you choose to do so, you may remove the algae and plant growth.
3. The rock can be placed into your aquarium or into a holding container while the rock cycles. If you choose to place it in an aquarium no animals may be added until the levels of ammonia and nitrite have dropped back to zero. This can take from 3 to 6 weeks.
4. When placing live rock in an aquarium try to keep as much of the rock off the bottom of the aquarium as possible to ensure good water circulation around the rock. As you build rock walls and cliffs you want as little contact between each piece of rock as possible. This again allows for good circulation and will create great hiding places for the fish.
5. Use power heads, water pumps and the return pump outlets to direct water flow throughout the rock structure.
6. Make sure your protein skimmer is running properly. It should produce a thick, dark-colored waste in the collection cup. Activated filter carbon may be used to remove organic waste and the smell. Set the heater between 74º and 78º.
7. The levels of nutrients in the water will begin to rise very rapidly. If you keep a lot of light on the aquarium it will grow a lot of unwanted algae. You need enough light to keep the macro algae alive so use 1 watt per gallon of water for less than 5 or 6 hours a day.
8. Water changes should be done regularly. While removing the water use some flexible tubing and siphon the white spots or any other dying debris off your rocks when they appear. Also siphon the bottom of the aquarium or container removing any debris. Change at least 50%, up to 100% of the water each time you do a water change. The more often the water changes are done, the lower the waste levels will be and the more plants and animals will survive.
9. When the levels of ammonia and nitrite read zero on your test kit the rock is cycled. Now you can gradually increase the amount of light each day, as well as the amount of time it stays on.

If you have not done a water change recently do one before adding fish, corals or invertebrates.

It takes patience to cure live rock because the aquarium is motionless with little going on while you keep up with water changes and water testing. When the cycle completes, your aquarium will come to life as you begin adding colorful, playful, eye-catching fish!

Laurren Schmoyer is the founder and CEO of Aquamain's Fish World and Aquatic Experts. Aquamain's is one of the largest aquarium stores on the east coast. Laurren has written several guides to help new hobbyists get started in the right direction.

For more expert advice on setting up a marine or saltwater aquarium, water quality and great saltwater starter fish visit http://saltwateraquarium.aquaticexperts.com