gulf-view deco rock question on curing

[reefNewbie]

I am planning on ordering some of this rock to add to my current tank. I was going to cure the after shipping to make sure there are no ammonia spikes. I was wondering what will happen to all of the life on the rock when im curring it? This rock is supposed to have lots of life on it and corals. I no that regualr LR doesnt need light, but this stuff is supposed to have lots of corals on it and im wondering how they will last when im curing it if i dont have any light on the curing tub? The only extra lamp i have is a 36in NO 50/50 strip off my old tank and this would probably not be sufficient for corals.

 

[reefNewbie]

anyone have any suggestions?

 

[Expos Forever]

I see your dilemma. Even if you weren't concerned about an ammonia spike you'd still have to worry about mantis shrimps which are almost a sure bet on Florida rock, from what I've heard. I've also heard a lot of these sponges/corals will not last long no matter what you do. I would say cure as usual, provide as much light as possible and do lots of water changes to speed up the process. Do you have an extra skimmer? This would help get the rock in your tank quicker.

 

[fishfarmer]

I never bought the deco, but I did buy the coralline 30 lbs special. I have several corals that made it through the cycle as well as a three day heat wave and subsequent tank crash. I still have some spongelife, tube worms, and macroalgaes that came on this rock.

I cured 30 lbs in a plastic tub of about 15 gallons with a homemade PVC skimmer, a heater and a couple of small NO fluorescent tubes. I did a very good initial inspection of the rock, picking what looked dead off. The next day or two I continue to check the rock for rotting sponges and scrubbed them off. I did several partial water changes in my tub during the first week. After about two weeks the ammonia level was low and I was getting a good brown algae growth on the rock which I let a long spine urchin clean up.

Have fun, the life on this rock is amazing.

 

[reefsRcool]

my experiance with this rock was outstanding, i do not have a seperate curing setup so i just dumped it into the tank and kept a ton of water ready for waterchanges. much to my delight it barely cycled. i was amazed at how little die off there was. i don't think it was BS when dale said i would get the rock within 18 hours of it being in the ocean. FWIW that was my experiance

 

[reeferdoc]

I just bought a total of 160 lbs of coralline and premium deco mix from Gulf-View to put in my AGA 120RR startup. I can't say enough about how awesome Dale's (Gulf-View) rock is! I actually ordered my first batch which came exactly as described (even better) and got it going. Then I was vacationing in Florida and stopped by Dale's shop. What an outrageously gorgeous collection of rock, fish, sponges, and inverts. My only problem so far is that I didn't have enough space in my trunk and eventually in my tank! Anyhow, most of the life lived on the rock and is thriving well. I had plenty a beneficial hitchhikers, a few aptasia, and one mantis shrimp. Dale told me to do a one minute freshwater dip to flush out any unwanted hikers which I did and it worked out really great. I have had my tank up and running for four weeks with only tiny spikes in ammonia, nitrate, and nitrite. I would do it over again this way in a heartbeat! Good Luck! 8)