curing 40 lbs carib sea liferock

[php1775]

hi guys,been involuntarily away from hobby for 10 plus years.starting up my 29 cube again and using caribsea liferock this time instead of liverock .Saw vid w guy who on a few occaisions ,first cleans rock for couple weeks w tap water instead of ro water w 1.025 salinity at 79degrees.my question is,not sure if using Prime or b.w.-erase cl is a good idea to eliminate chlorine yet since it may kill off needed?ammonia? or disturb the dormant bacteria that rock is infused with. I am not Curing rock w bacteria etc products in my tank yet,just giving a good rinsing in a big tub first.i have dr tims- one and only,and a few brightwell products.- Micro bacterial quick cycle -,microbacter clean, -microbacter start xlm ,-erase cl, and -microbacter 7. Please Advise!

Thank You,Pat
think i may have posted in wrong forum

 

[stingythingy45]

Hi Pat. What are your goals by using so many different additives to cycle this tank?
Are you hoping to cycle the tank quickly?
Not really familiar with Caribsea liferock, I suppose it's similar to the sand with "live bacteria"?
BTW if water movement and a temp at or near 75 deg, chlorine will simple evaporate out over a couple days time. I wouldn't really worry about killing off any existing bacteria that may be present in the rock.
I'm kind of an old school cycling/curing guy.
Rotting cocktail shrimp in a tank.
Check for ammonia spike.
Ammonia subsides then nitrates.
Water change and off you go....slowly.
Having a pest free piece of LR can definitely speed up the process.
Anyways, that's just my 2 cents. But things have certainly changed over the years,
So perhaps my method is very dated.

 

[php1775]

Thank you,i havent used any of these additives so far,but im sure that i will use some of it at some point.
ive always used live rock in the past,but it is getting harder to find quality liverock at an affordable price and i also wanted to avoid pests, so i thought i would try the caribsea life rock that is infused with dormant bacteria and has a nice color, rather than the white dry rock.i may either use a clown fish or the shrimp method once i add the rock to my tank, then use those bacteria additives after cycle is complete as well as live sand.
youre right,things have changed since i was active in the hobby so i just wanted to find the best options available nowadays.i dont want to rush the process,already accepted that it may take a few months to get the best results for the health of the tank. i subscribed to the bulk reef supply channel on you tube and watched their dry rock cycling vids,hence all those additives lol.
Thanks again for your help, happy reefing

 

[Ortizdrz]

Liferock is man made and anytime I've purchased it I haven't had to clean or rinse at all as there's obviously no pests present. Unless of course you're buying used

 

[chadfish]

I heard it’s not natural color; might be paint. Can anyone confirm?

That said, i have a piece in my tank

 

[Chris A.]

Believe it’s a dye. Also have read of someone breaking down a tank because it got brittle and started breaking apart, but again not sure if it’s the norm or just a fluke.
Give me fiji live rock any day

 

[php1775]

No its new,but it did make my skimmer go crazy for a little bit,nothing dark,just cloudy.
a caribsea rep at macna? interviewed by a bulk reef supply rep on you tube said it was painted,but with what i have no idea.i really came back in hobby not knowing all my options,but im happy with this mostly cause i absolutely hate bristleworms and aptasia etc and didnt want to take a chance w any live rock as much as i would have rather had some instead of this.im going to be using low light w seahorses etc so i liked the fact that it had color to start with as i dont know if coraline algae will form very well with my lighting.im just so happy that i kind of forced myself back into the hobby w my retirement budjet since ive really missed it and all my fellow members that share the love of all the beauty that salt water life has to offer.thank you guys for your replies.almost forgot.imediately transferred rock into ro water etc