Marco Rock Curing ???

[Spooky]

Thinking about getting a bunch of Marco rock and later some live rock. How long does everyone think I need to cure it? Most likely going to cure it in my display tank before anything other than sand goes in and just skim/water change heavily. Any thoughts would be appreciated.
Thanks
Spooky

 

[maxfischer]

its empty now? you can use a plastic trash can with a heater, and power heads, and you can reuse the can for your RODI down the road

 

[Mrs. Delta]

If you put in mostly marco rock and new sand, you can put a small piece of LR and a cup of someone else's live sand in there and start your cycle process. If you add the LR later, it will only prolong/restart the cycle. The duration of the cycle can vary, but plan on a at least a month (although it could be longer) to get the tank going.

 

[nichols]

I'd soak the Marco rock in a clean barrel for a week or so. Take it out and wash it as good as you can with a garden hose. Marco rock has a lot of crevice which contain a lot of crap. I would get rid as much of this as you can. After cleaning the rock I'd add sand to your tank. Cover the sand with a trash bag, weight down the bag with a couple of dinner plates and slowly fill the tank 1/2 way with salt water. The trash bag will help eliminate the sandstorm. Remove the trash bag and add the Marco rock. Finish filling the tank with salt water. After the tank is up to temp add a small amount of live sand and rock and let it cycle for 4 or 5 weeks.

 

[theone]

Is Marco Rock dead rock or man made?

 

[NateHanson]

It's dried reef rock.

 

[jbundas]

I cured about 150 lbs of Marco in an empty 75g tank. I threw in a few pieces of mature live rock after the first week. The water was brown and really smelly for the first 2 weeks or so and the little skimmer I had on there went nuts for the same amount of time. I did a few ~40% water changes in there and after about a month the water was clear and the skimmer more or less stopped producing anything. I'd guess after that first month the rock should be pretty good to go. It's been 2 months now and it's all still simmering as I'm not ready to build the rockwork in the main tank yet.

 

[JustDavidP]

I cured my 50+ in a 75G sump too. I rinsed for a week or more in fresh water (found urchins, crabs, you name it) and then let it dry out. Thereafter, I put it in the tank and let it sit. I put just a few baseball sized chunks of mature LR on them. That was in the fall. Today, the rock is blessed with coraline, munnid pods and other goodies. It will be going into the new seahorse tank (when me and Gustavo finish it) and the lionfish tank...soonest.

D

 

[JCheung]

oh quick question about this, should i get the protein skimmer while the live rock is curing or can i go without it for a while?

 

[PenMan]

I have 40 gallon tank of it curing now and it surprising what the skimmer is pulling out of the tank after two days. Get the skimmer on it as soon as possible.

 

[Moe_K]

oh quick question about this, should i get the protein skimmer while the live rock is curing or can i go without it for a while?

While I agree with PenMan, I think you can go a while without the skimmer if you're not going to have fish or anything. So if it'll take a couple of weeks to get your skimmer, you can still have the rock soaking.
Then when you get the skimmer, fire it up and pull out the crud from the water.

But like PenMan said, it's best to get the skimmer rocking ASAP.

 

[JCheung]

ok thanks, i want to get all the parts together at one time. so i don't have to keep moving things around to get things to fit.

 

[LockeOak]

One tip, for the sake of stability it's probably best to put rock in before the sand so any burrowing critters don't dig into the sand under a rock and cause a collapse.

 

[pillowfish]

Cover the sand with a trash bag, weight down the bag with a couple of dinner plates and slowly fill the tank 1/2 way with salt water. The trash bag will help eliminate the sandstorm. Remove the trash bag and add the Marco rock. Finish filling the tank with salt water

OK where was this tidbit of info a few days ago???? Really great suggestion BTW...again perpetually late

 

[JCheung]

Yeah lockeoak thats already too late. i put in the sand already. but i plan to take out the water and sweep the sand to one side put down the flat base rock sweep the sand over that and do the same to the other side and then even it all out. and then put the display rocks on top of that.