rock curing outdoors

[Europhyllia]

okay getting ready to cure the rocks.
I dried them. I cleaned them the best I could. But I can tell when they get wet they gets smelly.
Not sure I want that in the house...
Will the heat out on the porch be too much to successfully cycle the rocks?

In other words does heat impede bacterial growth in this case?

[RayAllen]

you will get bacteria no matter where you have them. Id do it in the garage or barn out of direct light though. You also do not want foreign dust and what ever else floating into the mix.

[Bill S]

Sorry, Ray, to disagree...

Bacteria are temperature sensitive - and you want to make sure you encourage the growth of the kind you want. For instance, bacteria that infect humans particularly like and are adapted to our body temperature. The reason we "run a fever", is that our bodies warm up to a level that bacteria don't like. Water too warm will kill off or slow down the growth of beneficial bacteria. As will temperatures too cool.

[Europhyllia]

Water too warm will kill off or slow down the growth of beneficial bacteria. As will temperatures too cool.
I was worried about that. Preparing for some stinky times ahead...

[RayAllen]

A lot of folks on here have cured rock in their garage. Here in Texas our garages get really hot but people cure rock in their garage all the time do to lack of space or not wanting to smell or see it. Some of our tanks get well into the 80's temps, my garage in the summer gets to the high 80s low 90s. If I run a fan or two it helps. If you have it in the garage with some type of air circulation blowing over the surface I think you would be alright.

Also keep in mind that several people have their sumps in their garage as well year round plumbed into their main tank. The key is cooling it.

[ramsey]

I recently cured some rock in my garage but the hottest it got while I was doing it was the mid 80's. The temperature of the water would get up to 85 degrees. It cured just fine but I'd be worried if the water got up to 95-100 degrees. You'll also need to keep an eye on evaporation. Adding a fan is going to increase this even more though it'd probably be worth it. I do have a chiller and a pump that I'm trying to sell ATM moment which would probably help ease your mind. hehe

[Europhyllia]

Lol I saw that but I am about to spend big money on a new tank so got to make choices... :(

[Ping]

What people do and what is best is not often the same. It would be best to cure the rock at the temp you plan to run the tank at. This will lessen the amount of cycles the rock will experience when placed in the system. It is also best to run a skimmer and conduct daily water changes. The amount of death inside the rock is much greater than the death cleaned off the outside of the rock.

The bacteria is going to have its cycles until one type becomes dominant, then the higher life forms such as sponges, will begin to re-propagate the inside pores of the rock. Temperature changes will cause more bacterial cycles.

Curing (cooking) of rock under optimum conditions produces the best results.

[jroescher]

I'm certainly no expert in this matter, but what Bill and Ping say makes the most sense to me. It would seem to me that you could cure your rock at any temperature. But when moved into your tank at a different temperature, it would cycle again as the bacteria that has evolved and flourished at the different temperature died off and newer forms began to flourish again at the tank temperature.

[Bill S]

So, I think the consensus is, it can be done. But, whether or not you want to do it that way is up to you!

[Europhyllia]

I may be able to drain my current tank and slide it to a different spot on the tile floor and set it back up.
Then I can put the new tank in the permanent location and just cure the rocks right in the tank.
I was looking into 'cooking' the rock which seems to just mean curing without light for 6 weeks or so. Did I understand that right?
Could I achieve that in the regular tank with a sheet over it?
Or will curing them in the tank mean I'll miss out on the cooking part?

[jroescher]

Since you've dried and scrubbed your rocks clan, I would just put them in the tank and go from there. Keeping them in dark would only serve to prevent things from growing. Don't think that's necessary anymore. Skim heavy for awhile like you would for any tank cycle and enjoy watching them come alive again.

[Europhyllia]

Good point John! Thanks :)