Wayneb332
Active Member
https://www.reefcleaners.org › rock
This is where I bought mine.
This is where I bought mine.
Brs pukani dry rock
- Thread starter badstorm48
- Start date
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Ryengoth
I wish I was in St John USVI
I have bought both and like a mix. The real live stuff really should be flushed a few times in a 5G bucket with salt water. I put it straight into my 90G and it took me about 3 months to get the calcium levels under control from the leeching. I also had massive organic rot that happened and it took a long time to get it stable enough for acclimation. The reef saver stuff I always rinse twice with RO water and then soak overnight in buckets with 1.025 water and 1/4C of purple up to fill the pores with aragonite before I put in the tank.
jgvergo
Valuable Member
So, I'm a little confused about the need to cure dry live rock with a new tank. Since I expect to be cycling the tank for quite a while, what is the disadvantage of curing the rock in the tank as my cycle takes place?
Ryengoth
I wish I was in St John USVI
IMO, you shouldn't cure it before you drop it in a new setup. You'll just end up roasting good rock and killing whatever is there when you have massive swings in the 3 nitrogen levels. I usually cycle my tank with dead reef saver and then introduce a piece or two of cured rock to help seed the rest of the tank. If you can manage the ammonia and nitrogen levels during cycling you can also cure it at the same time but it's a pain. I just let it rot to start with and then get the rocks curing while I get the elements straight.
fragit
2500 Club Member
I think the only disadvantage is that people get impatient and try to stock the tank was too soon. It can take a few months for all the die off to be processed. A new tank with dry rock will go through many phases before the water is stable enough to safely put in live stock IMO. Even though it's dry there are still dried critters on and in the rock that need to be "eaten" by bacteria. I've read in a few places that the BRS pukani can really smell too so that may be a consideration. Curing and cycling are not the same thing, keep in mind. Curing= allowing all the dead stuff on the rocks to rot away and to stop producing large amounts of organics. Cycling= allowing a new system to establish the appropriate bacteria levels to establish to export organic waste produced by organisms and feeding.
Ryengoth
I wish I was in St John USVI
OMG does it stink when it gets rehydrated and starts to rot out. 2 weeks of skimmer dumping and water changes to get that crap out. I have polyps, though, that actually survived the drying and are extended and glowing now.
fragit
2500 Club Member
I'm not sure I don't have any 1st hand experience using dry rock. That is just from what I've read. I've only used live rock in my systems. I did just order 80lbs of dry Pukani from BRS, judging from their videos and pictures on their site I am confident that the polyps you have did not come from dry rock. Dry rock is just that dry, not wet, nothing alive on it(prevents pests) and anything on it should look like a dried out piece of dead sea life. I would say either the polyps came from somewhere else, they are not polyps, or you didn't get dry rock.
fragit
2500 Club Member
Well as I said the idea of Dry rock is that it is void of all life regardless from where it was collected. As far as the 3 cured rocks you used, I would bet good money that is where the polyps came from.
Lynn52
Active Member
I agree with the stink. Mine was only 25 or so pounds and it was going into an established tank so there was no way I wasn't going to soak it. I soaked it for a week in RO water. The worst smell ever. I wouldn't want that smell coming from my open tank that sits in my living room. In a sealed tote not so bad.
Jakepen
Few beers and I'll frag anything...
What's the best way to clean pukani. I've got some curing in a tote, and it's very dark. Has a lot of gunk stuck onto it, not a nice brite white like I would like. Any suggestions?
Jakepen
Few beers and I'll frag anything...
I don't like that they artificially color it. That is one thing I'm excited for, watching my dry rock slowly grow coralline. Feel like that will be an accomplishment in a sense.
Brian Kim
Color My Reef
I also used BRS dry rock and had to cure them before putting in my tank. Here's an alternative if you willing to pay a little more http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=31771
It's handcrafted and you can just put in your tank after a quick rinse with RO water
It's handcrafted and you can just put in your tank after a quick rinse with RO water
Lynn52
Active Member
I just sprayed mine down in my kitchen sink with hot water and scrubbed the surface with a brush, after soaking it in water for a week. It wasn't pure white but it won't stay white very long once it's in the tank. If you plan to cycle the rock you will need salt water. Is this going into a new tank?, if so you can cycle it in the tank.
Jakepen
Few beers and I'll frag anything...
Well I want to start cycling my rocks, before they are done curing. So I'll be cycling them in the tote for a little while, before going into my tank. Which there I will continue the cycle process.
Jakepen
Few beers and I'll frag anything...
Surprising. I've had my dry rock in the tote for about a week now, the water is filthy and smells terrible. Going to change the water today. No way I would want them in my living room, leaking all that into my tank.
Well if I new when I started that there was a chance that it may smell I probably wouldn't have put it in there. I purchased more rock from reefcleaners that should come this week. I am just going to cross my fingers that it won't smell when I toss that in.
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