purchased 13 pounds of tonga live rock from local fish store today for a nano. there is some old brown algae still on it and looks quite a mess. its in the tank now, should i remove it and rinse or brush off the dead algae? or how should i prepare it if anything.
Live rock is generally sold "cured" or "uncured." Sounds like you got the second option, and it would be better to cure it out of the tank. It sounds like your tank is new? If so be sure the rock is fully cured (no more dead nasty stuff on it polluting the water) one way or another before even considering starting the stocking effort.
If it's already in the tank you can just cure it in there too. I'd syphon or pick-off any dead, necrotic looking stuff. Also, using a turkey baster or powerhead to blow any decaying stuff off the rocks can help speed up the curing process provided you syphon out whatever crud collects on the bottom after doing this.
