Curing Live Rock Question - with pictures

Hello all:


As some of you may know, I am in the process of setting up my first
marine tank (55 gallon). I have 45 lbs of Fiji LR and 15 lbs of
Tongan LR.

I have read for hours upon hours on the internet and in books on how
to cure live rock. Each one is different.

I have developed my plan from all the articles and still need a
little help. Please keep in mind that I am completely new to the
hobby and know little about Marine Biology. This is where my problem
is..... I don't know what is good and what is bad on the rock!!!!!

Everything I read states that I should clean the rock of unwanted
algae and what not but I don't know how to identify these. If you can
provide a link or a book ISBN to help me out I would greatly
appreciate it. I know that I need to clean off the white stuff but
what else?


I have posted a few pictures of my live rock and am curious what
your thoughts are. Especially on picture 1 ??? What is the green
sponge looking thing at the bottom?


Please help me out and point me to some places with pictures I can
use to identify these things.


pictures available at:

http://www.grantshipley.com/gallery/Live-Rock


Grant

Hi Grant,

How did the LR smell when it arrived? Did it smell clean and salty, or
putrid? If it was clean overall, you don't have to cycle the rock, but do keep
an eye on your parameters.

I've never needed to clean off any portion of LR before it was added to my tank,
as I always buy cured LR.

Marc


Grant wrote:

Hello all:

As some of you may know, I am in the process of setting up my first
marine tank (55 gallon). I have 45 lbs of Fiji LR and 15 lbs of
Tongan LR.

I have read for hours upon hours on the internet and in books on how
to cure live rock. Each one is different.

I have developed my plan from all the articles and still need a
little help. Please keep in mind that I am completely new to the
hobby and know little about Marine Biology. This is where my problem
is..... I don't know what is good and what is bad on the rock!!!!!

Everything I read states that I should clean the rock of unwanted
algae and what not but I don't know how to identify these. If you can
provide a link or a book ISBN to help me out I would greatly
appreciate it. I know that I need to clean off the white stuff but
what else?

I have posted a few pictures of my live rock and am curious what
your thoughts are. Especially on picture 1 ??? What is the green
sponge looking thing at the bottom?

Please help me out and point me to some places with pictures I can
use to identify these things.

pictures available at:

http://www.grantshipley.com/gallery/Live-Rock

Grant

--
Personal Page: http://www.sparklingfloorservice.com/oanda/index.html
Business Page: http://www.sparklingfloorservice.com
Marine Hobbyist: http://www.melevsreef.com

"Grant" wrote in message
...
I have read for hours upon hours on the internet and in books on how
to cure live rock. Each one is different.

Yep, welcome to SW.

I don't know what is good and what is bad on the rock!!!!!

IMO, if it's alive and growing ON the rock, you're pretty good
as long as it's not aptasia. Some critters might be hitching a
ride IN the rock, and some of them are not good.

Everything I read states that I should clean the rock of unwanted
algae and what not but I don't know how to identify these. If you can
provide a link or a book ISBN to help me out I would greatly
appreciate it. I know that I need to clean off the white stuff but
what else?

Umm, depends on what the "white stuff" is. Coralline also
grows in a white color (that's some of the good stuff)

I have posted a few pictures of my live rock and am curious what
your thoughts are. Especially on picture 1 ??? What is the green
sponge looking thing at the bottom?

IMO, your pics show nothing I'd be concerned about. And AFAIK,
the green sponge looking thing is just that. I have *many* in one
of my tanks (they're more white though) and they tend to live in
the shade, nothing seems to bother them and v.v. Perhaps
someone else has more info.

Actually, that rock looks pretty decent!

Cheers,
Dave Johnson

Grant wrote:

Hello all:



I have posted a few pictures of my live rock and am curious what
your thoughts are. Especially on picture 1 ??? What is the green
sponge looking thing at the bottom?



I'm not sure what y ou mean by sponge looking thing but you do have a
coral or coral skeleton that has a green tint to it on the bottom of the
rock in picture one. I don't know if the coral is dead from the pick,
so I would highly suggest turning the rock over and get the skelton out
of the sand and into the light so you can see if you can keep it alive.
This is the section of the rock with the greenish holes in it that
could look like a sponge I guess.

Kim
http://www.jensalt.com

On Sat, 09 Aug 2003 05:44:55 GMT, Marc Levenson
wrote:

Hi Grant,

How did the LR smell when it arrived? Did it smell clean and salty, or
putrid? If it was clean overall, you don't have to cycle the rock, but do keep
an eye on your parameters.


The rock never had a smell to it. It has been in my tank for over a
week now and I have not noticed any smell at all. My wife has not
noticed the terrible smell I warned her about either. So I am
guessing the rock was fully cured when it got here..


That being said, I still need my tank to cycle. I have noticed the
amonia levels have came down to .20 - .25 in one week but the nitrite
level hasnt came down yet.

I've never needed to clean off any portion of LR before it was added to my tank,
as I always buy cured LR.

Marc


Grant wrote:

Hello all:

As some of you may know, I am in the process of setting up my first
marine tank (55 gallon). I have 45 lbs of Fiji LR and 15 lbs of
Tongan LR.

I have read for hours upon hours on the internet and in books on how
to cure live rock. Each one is different.

I have developed my plan from all the articles and still need a
little help. Please keep in mind that I am completely new to the
hobby and know little about Marine Biology. This is where my problem
is..... I don't know what is good and what is bad on the rock!!!!!

Everything I read states that I should clean the rock of unwanted
algae and what not but I don't know how to identify these. If you can
provide a link or a book ISBN to help me out I would greatly
appreciate it. I know that I need to clean off the white stuff but
what else?

I have posted a few pictures of my live rock and am curious what
your thoughts are. Especially on picture 1 ??? What is the green
sponge looking thing at the bottom?

Please help me out and point me to some places with pictures I can
use to identify these things.

pictures available at:

http://www.grantshipley.com/gallery/Live-Rock

Grant

Grant wrote:

The rock never had a smell to it. It has been in my tank for over a
week now and I have not noticed any smell at all. My wife has not
noticed the terrible smell I warned her about either. So I am
guessing the rock was fully cured when it got here..

Yes, I believe it was.

That being said, I still need my tank to cycle. I have noticed the
amonia levels have came down to .20 - .25 in one week but the nitrite
level hasnt came down yet.

It will do this on its own. Just be patient, it typically takes 3 weeks to a month.

Marc

--
Personal Page: http://www.sparklingfloorservice.com/oanda/index.html
Business Page: http://www.sparklingfloorservice.com
Marine Hobbyist: http://www.melevsreef.com