Cured live rock VS uncured

[sammydee]

Hi.

I've done some reading up on the difference between cured and uncured live rock. I think I'm right in thinking that cured live rock has had a chance in the LFS tank to already go through the bacteria die off and cycle, so it is a quicker cycle when you put it in your tank, right?

And uncured live rock is when it is taken straight from the ocean, and has all the bacteria die off in the tank, right?

So is uncured live rock cheaper? Will it have more diverse life on it, coming straight from the sea? And why does live rock have "die-off" - what is it?

Thanks.

 

[TBLightningFan]

I'm right in thinking that cured live rock has had a chance in the LFS tank to already go through the bacteria die off and cycle, so it is a quicker cycle when you put it in your tank, right?

Correct.

And uncured live rock is when it is taken straight from the ocean, and has all the bacteria die off in the tank, right?

Yes... during transportation some parts of the LR will die. If the LR smells rotten then it is uncured. Even after you buy some cured LR it may have some die off there too (from taking it home and fiddling with getting in into your tank) .... but is so minimal that you will not notice.

So is uncured live rock cheaper? Will it have more diverse life on it, coming straight from the sea?

Not really on both counts, both cured and uncured have taken the same trip and have come from the same place.... the cured just has all the die-off cycled away already. Cured LR saves you a headache. So what does the uncured have the cured doesnt? ....... Dead Critters and etc.

And why does live rock have "die-off" - what is it?

Because of change in environment and long shipping times depending on what part of the world you are in. Usually in the collection process the LR will hit air severaltimes and be moved around a lot.... so its inevitable that some of the critters and bacteria will die.

 

[sammydee]

Ahh ok, thanks for clearing that up, TB.

So... there is really no advantage for buying uncured live rock over cured live rock? Is there any way I can buy, say, 10lb of live rock, then add 10lb of "dead" rock and let the bacteria population spread?

What I am essentially trying to discover is if there is any other cheaper way of getting live rock without buying it straight from the LFS. I don't care if it takes a bit more time.

Thanks.

 

[J-Money]

i've heard the "Dead" LR referred to as Reef Bones. A lot of people use that to make it cheaper.

With Uncured LR you will get more hitchikers than you would normally get. Sometimes that could be cool, other times you could get stuff like a mantis shrimp which would wreak havoc on your tank if you didn't want it

 

[Opcn]

Uncurred LR may have more diversity, many of the mobile critters you get on LR have a chance to wander off or be eaten in holding tanks at wholesailers or at the LFS, if you want the diversity it is best to get Curred LR and then add uncurred later, the curred can handle the dyeing bioload off the uncurred and the uncurred will bring in alot of diversity

 

[Navarre]

Opcn is right, if you are starting a fresh tank then i would seriously consider uncured rock (if you can stand the smell ). What happens when the rock arrives in your local shops tank is that all the critters that are capable of moving will do so to other parts of the tank in search of new homes etc. this means by the time its cured, much of the diversity that still lived when it entered your shops tanks now sit in their tanks and not in yours


If however you have an established tank than i do not recomend uncured as it will create large spikes in theor nitrogen cycle.

Where i am from you will find Uncured liverock is cheaper than cured.

 

[sammydee]

Well I haven't got any rock or sand or ANYTHING in my tank yet... so it looks like I'll be going for uncured rock. If I get any bad critters on it like a Mantis Shrimp or whaever then at least I will be able to get rid of it before I put anything else in there.

A coupla more questions (sorry!):

What bad guys are there that can hitchhike in?
About how long does it take uncured live rock to cure?
Can I do the same thing with sand - like buy some "dead" sand and mix it with live sand to save money?
EDIT - Yet another potential way to trya bd save money - can I collect rainwater in a dustbin and use that instead of RO/DI? Or will it have too much carbonic acid or watever in it?

Thanks