The information contained in this document is provided by, Stan & Debbie Hauter, more of their great articles can be found at www.About.com. Stan and Debbie are considered authorities on the subject matter of Live Rock and many other areas of interest to the aquarists and the tropical fish and aquarium industries.

This information is comprehensive and completely relevant to your use of Live Rock. We encourage you to read this prior to installation to determine what steps will be the best steps in your particular situation.

• Before you begin this procedure, you need to have something ready to put the rocks into once they are cleaned. This can be either a separate rock curing setup or an aquarium.


• Now, the simplest way to preclean Live Rock is to fill a large bucket or container with saltwater, take each piece of rock and swish it around in the water. This helps to get rid of some of the organisms that may be embedded inside the porous rock, break loose any organisms that may be dead or dying off, as well as remove sediment that may be present.
  Although this method is a good one, taking the time to "thoroughly" preclean the rocks is much more beneficial. Here's How:


• Fill a clean, plastic spray bottle with saltwater. This will be used to spritz the rocks with to keep them moist during this procedure.


• Fill a large plastic bucket or other type container with some saltwater and set it aside. (This will be used later to dip the rocks in after you have cleaned each one.)


• To be on the safe side and protect your hands, put on a pair of gloves of some kind.


• Lay the Live Rock out a plastic tarp, or other piece of suitable plastic.


• Inspect the rocks for any undesirable animals, such as bristleworms, mantis shrimp, crabs, aiptasia anemones, and so on, and remove them.


• Inspect the rocks for any dead or dying organisms that may be turning black or have a whitish film to them, and remove them. This pertains to algae, and sessile (attached) invertebrates, such as sponges, soft corals, tube worms, and so on.


• After each piece of rock is inspected and cleaned, dip it into the bucket or container of saltwater you set aside earlier, swish it around to remove any loose debris, and then put it into the curing set up you prepared before starting this procedure.


• Now let it cure. Note by Live Rock, Inc. DON’T BE IN A HURRY. YOU HAVE GOTTEN THIS FAR AND THE WORK IS DONE.

• Any type of plastic container or an aquarium that is suitable in size to fit the amount of Live Rock you have to cure can be used for this project.


• Fill the curing container to a suitable level from the top with the saltwater. If you did not make-up and mix saltwater ahead of time in a separate container, you can do it right inside the curing container itself.


• Insert and run a heater set to the desired temperature.


• up and run a water/powerhead pump in the water for circulation and oxygenation.


• If Allow the water to adjust to the set heater temperature, and check the pH level. Make adjustments if needed.


• Once the saltwater is ready, turn off the heater and water pump, remove and save about 1/2 of the water in the container. This is done because the water level will rise when the rocks are placed into the container.


• Before placing the Live Rock into the curing container you have set up, is best to pre-clean the rocks first. By taking the time to do this, it will help speed-up the curing time.


• After each piece of rock is pre-cleaned, place it into the curing container.


• When all the rocks are in the curing container, refill it to a suitable level from the top using the saved saltwater, and then turn the heater and water pump back on.


• Now let it cure. This means doing nothing else but occasionally siphoning out dead or dying organic matter that has settled on the bottom, and topping off the water when needed. There is no set time frame for this process to run its course. Because many variables apply here, such as the quality of the Live Rock, the amount of growth that may die off in the process, how uncured or cured it was when you started, and so on, it may take only a few days, or say a month.


• So how do you know when the Live Rock is "cured"? While curing is taking place you can periodically test the ammonia level, as well as for the appearance of nitrite. When these tests' result in zero readings, it's ready. However, the simplest way to tell is by smell. The curing process can be a very smelly one, so when the water no longer exudes an odor, viola, it should be done!

• To help avoid unwanted algae blooms that may occur during the Live Rock curing process, lighting is not used.


• Because curing Live Rock can often be a rather smelly process, if at all possible you may want to cure it in an area where any odor that may result will not present a problem, such as in a garage or basement. However, be sure it is a place where the room temperature can be regulated, especially if doing this during winter.=


• If it is impractical for you to cure Live Rock in a separate curing set up, it can be cured in the main aquarium before you start aquascaping the tank


• Whether you purchased cured or uncured Live Rock, it can be placed directly into the aquarium for use if you choose to do so. However, if you do this and opt to bypass the curing process, it is strongly recommended to at least preclean the rocks first.

• • Preclean the rocks before placing them into the aquarium.
  
  • Preclean the rocks, and allow a few days curing time in a separate curing setup.
  
  • Preclean the rocks and place them into the aquarium, BUT allow the rocks to fully cure or at least give it a few days curing time in this way first, before you aquascape the tank.
  

If the aquarium already has saltwater in it, and/or the system is set up and running, first turn off all the equipment, remove any devices that may get in the way, and take out and save about 1/2 of the saltwater in the tank. (The reason for this is that the water level will rise when the rocks are put into the tank.)

If the aquarium is empty, you can either fill it about 1/2 full with prepared saltwater, or mix the saltwater solution in the tank if you need to, then remove about 1/2 of the saltwater when it is ready for use.

Preclean the rocks, place them into the aquarium, and top-off the water level if needed. Only turn on the heater(s), and water/powerhead pump for oxygenation and circulation.

Let the rocks cure! This means you DO NOT add live sand or other substrate, livestock, or anything else until the curing process is complete. So how do you know when it is "cured"?

You can test for ammonia and nitrite, and when you get zero readings, the process has reached completion. Often you can also tell by smelling the water. If there is no odor to the water, it usually means the process is done.

While the rocks are curing, periodically siphon out any accumulated organic matter off the bottom of the tank, top-off the water level when needed, and keep an eye out and remove any unwanted animals or organisms that may have been missed when the rocks where precleaned.

Once the curing process is complete, siphon out any debris off the bottom of the tank, and do a substantial water change.

• This procedure is best done using a bare tank. Why? Because when die-off occurs, the dead or dying organic matter that creates ammonia can more easily be removed as it accumulates, which in turn helps to shorten the rock curing or cycling time. This also prevents excess organic matter from building up in the substrate, which can lead to high nitrate and problems with brown diatom and other type algae blooms during and after the aquarium cycling process.


• Of course you can opt to bypass curing the Live Rock altogether, but it is suggested to consider allowing the rocks to cure for at least a few days in this way, before adding the substrate and aquascaping the rocks.


• If you decide not to first cure the rocks, but intend to add the substrate and Live Rock to cycle the aquarium with, it is recommended to at least take the time to preclean the rocks before using them. This will help to eliminate some of the build-up of organic matter that will result from die-off, and you can inspect the rocks for any undesirable critters that may be present and remove them.


• You should consider raising the rocks up off the bottom of the tank for this procedure. It will provide more water circulation underneath and around the rocks, and makes it much easier to siphon out the dead or dying organic matter that can build-up during the curing process.