When uncured and even "so-called" cured live rock is first placed into an established saltwater system, is being cured or used to cycle a new aquarium with, some degree from light to heavy die-off of the organisms that reside on and inside the rocks will occur. The build-up of this dead or dying organic matter creates ammonia, so to help lessen excessive ammonia spiking problems, as well as shorten the curing time of the live rock, here is a simple way to preclean the rocks before using them.
Difficulty: Easy
Time Required: Varies
Here's How:
- Before you begin this procedure, you need to have something ready to put the rocks into once they are cleaned. This can be either a separate rock curing setup or an aquarium.
- Now, the simplest way to preclean live rock is to fill a large bucket or container with saltwater, take each piece of rock and swish it around in the water. This helps to get rid of some of the organisms that may be embedded inside the porous rock, break loose any organisms that may be dead or dying off, as well as remove sediment that may be present.
Although this method is a good one, taking the time to "thoroughly" preclean the rocks is much more beneficial. Here's How:
- Fill a clean, plastic spray bottle with saltwater. This will be used to spritz the rocks with to keep them moist during this procedure.
- Fill a large plastic bucket or other type container with some saltwater and set it aside. (This will be used later to dip the rocks in after you have cleaned each one.)
- To be on the safe side and protect your hands, put on a pair of gloves of some kind.
- Lay the live rock out a plastic tarp, or other piece of suitable plastic.
- Inspect the rocks for any undesirable animals, such as bristleworms, mantis shrimp, crabs, aiptasia anemones, and so on, and remove them.
- Inspect the rocks for any dead or dying organisms that may be turning black or have a whitish film to them, and remove them. This pertains to algae, and sessile (attached) invertebrates, such as sponges, soft corals, tube worms, and so on.
- After each piece of rock is inspected and cleaned, dip it into the bucket or container of saltwater you set aside earlier, swish it around to remove any loose debris, and then put it into the curing set up you prepared before starting this procedure.
- Now let it cure.
What You Need
- Live rock
- Prepared rock curing set up.
- Clean, plastic spray bottle.
- Saltwater.
- A large piece of plastic, or newspaper.
- A pair of gloves.
- Tweezers, or other items for removing things from the rocks.
- Large bucket or plastic container.
