Secrets of Curing Live Rock

a good hobbyist in another thread wrote: ]Rather than moving LR to someone elses tank why not mix up some saltwater and cure it in some rubbermaid totes or a large trash can?

I hope the reason will make sense as you read this post. It requires some basic understanding of biology, it's a little complicated and I'm not so good at explaining it, sorry.

Traditionally, Live Rock shipments are cured in dark tubs where dead stuff decomposes for 6-8 weeks. To receive a shipment of LR and place it in an empty tub of saltwater or in an empty tank or a newly setup tank actually kills a lot of life in the resulting high ammonia, high Nitrite, and high Nitrate conditions. On the other hand, when a small portion of new LR is placed in an established reef tank, the pollution is handled by the existing mature biological filtration. A skimmer on that host system also helps quite a lot. The Ammonia and other Nitrogen pollution levels may rise, but rarely to levels that would kill the life on and in the new rock and the hosting system. One of the added benefits is that the new LR is ready in only about 2 weeks.

There is a basic concept which when understood, will make a huge difference in how we care for Live Rock. Live Rock is not just "rock". It has things living on and in it. Those living organisms, the algae, bugs, coral, worms, clams, sponge, and other cool things need to be cared for just like fish and coral. When they are out of water they suffocate and die.

The pollution that comes from a large amount of dieing new LR can kill an entire aquarium, but when just a few lbs./pieces of LR are submerged in a well established reef aquarium the new LR then is part of a host system where good water flows around it carrying away dead matter and pollution. The new LR is surrounded with good water where the life that was struggling to survive in the damp suffocating conditions of the shipping box can now breathe and recover from near death. Organisms that have already died can decompose in a healthy environment where pollution is at a minimum.

I hope this concept make sense. Now let's look at how to put it into practice.
The amount of pollution a piece of LR will create depends on the amount of life on/in the LR and whether it came straight from the ocean or whether it was left to partially "cure" in a traditional curing tank in transit. This determines the amount of care needed by a shipment of LR.

Depending on the degree of care needed for the LR and the maturity of the host aquarium, add an amount of new LR equal to somewhere between 5-20% of the amount of LR currently in the tank. Together, the LR, Live Sand and Macroalgae in the host aquarium will handle the temporary pollution created by the new LR. Also be sure to twist, turn and shake the new LR to remove as many air bubbles as possible. (This is an important technique that should also be used whenever LR is moved from one tank to another.)

There is a side effect of this advanced procedure. An increase of algae growth will occur, especially on surfaces like the glass/acrylic. It's actually best to allow this algae to grow for a while as it eats up the extra pollution. The aquarium display and Refugium lights turned on 24 hours per day during the process makes the algae eat up the pollution as fast as possible.

This whole idea of understanding and using the biological processes at work in our tanks, is kind of the basis upon which I first wrote the Reefkeeping Tips thread linked below. As usual, I'm open to questions and comments.

Edited by Mark Peterson - February 27 2011 at 8:43am

That's crazy talk Burt. Don't be ridiculous. We know how to easily eliminate all the major LR pests, either by hand or with another animal.
What pests are you afraid of? Feel free to list them and I'll show you how easy it is to eliminate them.

Now you've got me going.
Have you ever done what I'm talking about?
Do you realize how much beneficial diversity of life comes in when the new LR is done this way?

The more I think on this issue the more I am convinced that taking live rock, coral, or other livestock from a tank that is crashing and putting it into an established tank isn't a great idea. 

No doubt I still have plenty to learn . One thing I have learned though is that I brought some things into my tank I wish I hadn't and being a little more cautious would have prevented hours of ongoing work.