curing Live Rocks

[rohnds]

From everything I have read, experts recomend that you cure the LRs in seperate tank prior to placing them in the tank.

Some recomend using protein skimmer while others (like liveaquaria) deosn't.

Is a protein skimmer essential in the curing process? ... especially if you are doing a 100% water change twice a week and scrubbing the LR during each change.

Rohn

 

[aresgod]

that is a bit excessive, the LR only needs to be in a separate tank if you have livestock in the tank already. I like to run a protien skimmer when I cycle my LR. 100% water changes are excessive...just do 25% weekly and you should be fine.

 

[rohnds]

100% water changes were recomended by liveaquaria
http://www.liveaquaria.com/general/general.cfm?general_pagesid=59

Is this realy excessive?

Rohn

 

[ram man]

yes, what i would do is let the rock cycle all on its own.

 

[aresgod]

here is the deal...just scrub the rock down really well before you put it inthe tank, get all the dead/dying sponges off of it...make sure to use salt water when scrubbing, this will help keep the smell down and make water changes much more manageable...100% is excessive...if there is nothing else in the tank just do normal 25%/week and you will be all set.

 

[wayne]

Well you buy live rock for the live things. And the live things require a certain degree of water quality so leaving them in a bath of ammonia isn't really going to help. So yes, I would add a skimmer, and if I needed to I would do some large water changes, as I don't like to spend on money on live things just to killthem a.s.a.p. Whether a large water change is 25 %, 100% is irrelevant, though you're going to do better with 100%.
I'll give you a tip. A BIG bucket of salt is pretty cheap. If you can't afford salt for saltwater, then this hobby is not for you. I will grant you making up water can be a hassle, especially if you're on RO, but for this purpose, large frequaent changes to cure live rock, make it up with tap water.