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