Live rock Curing

[Ping]

I am curing live rock for the first time and would appreciate any advice. My last live rock was from a friend and it was already cured.

20 lb in 20gal long aquarium

salt is 30 on hydrometer

tank temp is 82

dimly lit room

Plan on changing 10 gal H2O once a week.

Will start checking amonia and such on Sunday.

Should I add any supplements, IE; lime water, reef builder, etc. Or just wait until the rock is fully cured.

Also I am thinking of a 10 min dip in water with a salt reading of 40 for 10 min to remove any shrimp.

[GaryP]

You may kill the shrimp, but you may also kill a lot of other beneficial critters.

I don't know about dim lights either. You want to keep lights on the coralline algaes. The algaes will also help to process waste. Turning light off will not kill of nuisance algaes like hair. Its just going to delay the bloom until it goes into your tank.

My suggestion is regular conditions and just skim like heck. Scrubb off any dead material. Its sometimes referred to as "liver." Water changes with water close to tank salinity (1.025) is good too.

[Ping]

2 Power heads in. Will have lights and protien skimmer on tomorrow.

How about the effects of a HOB catridge type filter, with or filter pad and/ or with or without carbon?

[GaryP]

I think you would be wasting your time with the HOB filter. The small amount of carbon in the filter cartridge would become depleted quickly in such a nutrient rich application.

A magnum filter might be worthwhile to help remove some of the solids getting knocked loose. Just make sure to clean the filter frequently. You don't want the solids decaying inside the filter.

[Ram_Puppy]

when I cued my lalo, I had a magnum 350 running on it, I had to change tyhe media daily it got nasty.