Raw or cured in new setup??

[Mark420]

I'm going to be setting up my 105g soon. And I plan on useing a DSB(mostly south down w/some CaribSea and some LS to seed) and a refugium in the sump. I have a 58g w/LR,fish and few corals that are going to be moved to the the new setup, I plan on taking about half of the LR out when I setup the 105g but will need a lot more to fill the 105g. I know that you should only use "cured" LR when adding it to a "running" setup but, my ? is , is it ok to use "raw" LR when I first startup the 105g

The only reasson that I thought about using raw is because it's cheaper then cured. I'm not trying to skimp here but I figured that the tank is going to go throuh a cycle any ways and didn't think that raw LR would hurt .
What do you guys and gals think???
Thanks
mark

 

[Mark420]

 

[fishfarmer]

Depending on the condition of the raw rock, you may be waiting a month to cycle the big tank. Even cured shipped rock will need some down time to recure. This is what I would do. Forget about the cost of reefkeeping it's gonna cost you sooner or later

. Take a day trip down to Paragon Aquatics in Connecticut, sure the retail prices are higher than MO raw, but YOU get to pick out the pieces YOU want. The last I knew they still cure their own rock, they get raw in, skim like heck, put the cleanup critters to the sweet nuggets and keep them under halides. I was very impressed with the rock I picked up from him this April, loaded with various macroalgaes and coral colonies. I hope since he moved to a retail store the quality is still there, haven't had a chance to check.

 

[lionfish1]

get the raw rock, I am using it right now at this moment to cycle my tank 110gal, 150 lbs live rock (uncured) and 100 lbs live sand, tank has been up 18 days now and is comming along nicely, cya.

 

[Mark420]

Thank all
Hey fishfarmer, I was looking at the site for para? and they looklike they have some nice stuff, I saw the sight right before I posted the orig. post i think they offer "raw" rock there and thats what I was thinking of doing.going to go back to the site and look

 

[fishfarmer]

I think when you buy raw from Paragon, they order it for you from their source and gets shipped directly to you as opposed to being opened down in CT and then repakaged. I think it says something about this on their site. Either way you get the best rock locally IMO.

 

[pcragg]

Raw rock rules.
I got mine transshipped from Fiji, when I set up my tank. You get lots and lots more hitchhikers doing it this way. Pull off all the seaweed and rinse each piece in a high salinity bath (to get the crabs and mantis out). I used full lighting during curing (I think that saved the porites).It took about two weeks to cure and I think having the raw rock helped seed my DSB. Got a lot of shrooms, cowries and chitons and worms too.
Overall, a very pleasurable experience.

 

[Green Mariner]

Yes, get the RAW, you get so much more life that way!! I wouldn't suggest that you rinse it high salinity water(my preference), you will also lose some beneficial life, since you will also be using some of your existing rock cure the tank with just the raw, as it cures keep an eye out for crabs(usually no mantis in fiji rock, usually!)as you find things you don't want it will be fairly easy to remove. You will also notice your sand start to become alive. I set up a tank this way last year and the sand has so much life in it it just amazes me, and that's without a detrivour kit.

HTH

 

[Joey1]

I did the same thing in my tank in june,raw rock,dsb,left it for about a month,all kinds of goodies in there now,would definitely suggest it.I would also suggest a really good skimmer,mine was lame at the time. Joey

 

[Mark420]

This is great,All sorts of tips

So if I setup using raw rock to cycle, it'll help to seed the DSB right??? Should I let it run for about a month before adding fish/coral??? Run high light??? Can I add too much raw rock??? I do have a good skimmer(I think) it's a Berlin. Any one know of a good place to buy raw Lr @ a good price??I want to have lots of coraline

 

[Green Mariner]

<blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">quote:</font><hr>Originally posted by Mark420:
<strong>This is great,All sorts of tips

So if I setup using raw rock to cycle, it'll help to seed the DSB right??? Should I let it run for about a month before adding fish/coral??? Run high light??? Can I add too much raw rock??? I do have a good skimmer(I think) it's a Berlin. Any one know of a good place to buy raw Lr @ a good price??I want to have lots of coraline

</strong><hr></blockquote>

As far as the amount of time goes that will vary, depending on the tank parameters and the amount of rock you add, you will have to test. I did not clean my rock before curing in order to get a good solid cycle, and to preserve as much life as possible. I also did a 25% water change everytime the ammonia hit 1. I would also suggest that you give it longer than a month to get past the algae stage(diatom, hair). After your tank parameters are stable and within tolerances(0 ammonia, 0 nitrites, 0 nitrates) you should add your clean-up crew(snails, hermits, etc...) Lighting is going to depend on how much algae you are going to have, so yes, light the tank but watch for an algae explosion of sorts, if it gets out of hand lessen the amount of time the lights are on and work back up to a full lighting cycle.

I reciently had to replace just about all the rock in my main tank due to a bryopsis issue I had been fighting for almost 2 years. I got the new rock from www.oceanencounter.com you can see it here in my tank. It has only been there for 2 months. http://members.home.net/greenmariner/images/fulltank.jpg I was very happy, lots of corraline coverage, pods, snails, worms, and a couple of hitchhiker corals. The price and service were great!

HTH

 

[Sea Critter]

Hi everybody,
I am going to "stick my neck out here" and make an announcement, so Flame away if you must, moderators bleep this message if you must, or just check it out - Sea Critters is selling Aquacultured Live Rock direct to hobbyists at www.sea-critters.com. I am fairly sure you would be very happy with it. If I could figure out how to post a picture for ya'll I would. I can send a pic to anyone interested.

Teresa
www.sea-critters.com