Cured LR vs Uncured LR vs Dead rock

[darkstar]

Guys,

I have been reading quite abit in sgreef and also in reefcentral about using cured/uncured and even dead rocks for filtration.

While many advocate using cured LR(more expensive), some advise using uncured ones as there are more variety of bioorganism in the rocks. Then there are also posts on using dead rocks to start the whole cycling of because you never know what might be hidding inside the rocks(worms, mantis shrimps etc).It might be such unknown stuff/organism that might cause havoc in the tank in future.

I spoke to a few LFS and they each have their way of starting it off. Sam from S**L*** advocates using dead rocks while Edwin from W*K** uses cured LR.

perhaps it boils down to preference huh...?

[AlfaRomeo]

Generally, uncured LR will take a much longer time for the tank to fully cycle due to the relatively large amount of die-offs when compared to cured LR.

Dead rocks are more appropriate to be used as base rocks and then placing either cured or uncured LR on top to build the reef structure..

[pisces]

Alfa's right I guess . I have used dead rock to create the base and then used uncured LR for cycle.Took some time to complete the cycle, but saved on $$$ by using uncured rock.

Doesn't make sense to use dead rock to cycle. There's no life on the rock so how to start the cycle ?

[lightningstrike]

dump in a pc of market prawn. cycling kick starts, problem solved.

[pisces]

dump in a pc of market prawn. cycling kick starts, problem solved.

Though prawn will start the cycle. Adding LR later might cause some die-off and result in Ammonia/nitrite spikes. So u have again have to wait for that to settle.

[jasyu]

yup i was thinking of getting dead rocks or uncured live rocks for my new tank, intend to cycle for like 3-6 months before adding in LS. Anyone knows where to get nice dead or uncured rocks.

[lightningstrike]

Though prawn will start the cycle. Adding LR later might cause some die-off and result in Ammonia/nitrite spikes. So u have again have to wait for that to settle.

that is the reason why it is better to hv ur aquascape almost up and ready and hv enuff LRs before or during the cycling transition period. so that when u hv the need to add in more LRs, buy and add a little at a time in order to prevent another cycling process.

[pisces]

that is the reason why it is better to hv ur aquascape almost up and ready and hv enuff LRs before or during the cycling transition period. so that when u hv the need to add in more LRs, buy and add a little at a time in order to prevent another cycling process.

Agree with bro lightningstrike. Try to plan as much as possible beforehand.

[darkstar]

indeed, planning is most critical. Never rush into it. I learnt this the hard way also.

For my tank, I plan to use about 70-80% dead rocks and using cured LR for the rest. I dun dare to use uncured, scared of the unknown already.

Thanks guys for your sharing of info.

[typrobin]

personally, i prefer dead rocks...cheaper, no hitch hikers like mantis, bristle worms....

and to see the amount of new coraline algae growing is very exciting...

[pisces]

Thats cool typrobin ! Any tips/suggestions on how u managed to achieve this.

This is a bit off -topic. Hope u dun mind Darkstar.

[alanseah]

but with the use of purely dead rock.. u lacking the Life stuff in the rock like worm and the various gd crab or shrimp in it..

what your dead rock which become "live" is mostly contain baterica only...

[typrobin]

but with the use of purely dead rock.. u lacking the Life stuff in the rock like worm and the various gd crab or shrimp in it..

what your dead rock which become "live" is mostly contain baterica only...

quite true...but i rather save a bit of my money and not risk having mantis or other funny crabs in my tank...

as for the coraline algae..i didn't do anything, just dose kalk everyday loh..

[shoelevy]

ah....where can i buy dead rocks?

cos i also need to put them on the base and aquascape for me new tankie

[darkstar]

i think you can find dead rocks in many LFS. They just keep it behind only. Spoke to Ah Sam from S**L*** and he said if I engage him to setup a 4 feet tank he will provide me with all the dead rocks. When I asked him how come I cannot find dead rocks he said he keep it at the back (mainly for new setup use).

[gaga]

For my case i cycled my tank with 65kg of uncured LR. Here are my reasons: 1.) Cheaper as compared Cured ones. 2.) Uncured LR have thicker growth of coralline algae and larger population of living organism such as pods, crabs,worms and tunicate etc. Think about it those so called cured lr in those lfs are also once considered uncured, just becuse they have placed it in their a tub of salt water running air pump and skimmer for a few weeks/mths they consider it cured and therefore commands a higher price. Quite unjustify i feel. All the chores you can do it yourself and save yourself more dough on other things like future livestock / equiment. The only problem is patience cause i cycled my tank for 16 weeks doing a bit of water change during the 4th weeks onwards. I did not have any test kit at that time that why i was a bit on the kiasu side.

Patience will save you a lot of money in this hobby. IMO Don't ever get dead rock defeat the purpose of setting marine reef tank. The purpose of marine reef tank is to simulate the natural enviroment as closely as possible. Using dead rock reminds me of those dunno what limestone rock used in malawi chilid tank.

[daddycool]

bros how much does

cured LR,

uncured LR,

dead rocks

differ in prices anyway?

[darkstar]

i think the market price range is as below now:

cured: $14-16/kg

uncured: $10-12/kg

dead:$8

imagine a few dollars difference is amplified 60-80x when we need to size up 4-5 feet tanks.

For accurate figure, must approach LFS.

[typrobin]

i think the market price range is as below now:

cured: $14-16/kg

uncured: $10-12/kg

dead:$8

imagine a few dollars difference is amplified 60-80x when we need to size up 4-5 feet tanks.

For accurate figure, must approach LFS.

darkstar, i think u kena chop head ah...or i really very stingy?

dun think the prices are that high...my advise is to slowly stock the LRs as and when u see cheap ones...

in our pasar malam section, alway can find cheap cheap LRs, some kind souls even give away for free...that's how i got all my LRs...i have about 80kg of LRs, but spend less than $150 for all of them...some pieces i imported from Bintan some more (i took it from the beach, dun say steal hor)...hahahahha

[pisces]

darkstar, i think u kena chop head ah...or i really very stingy?

dun think the prices are that high...my advise is to slowly stock the LRs as and when u see cheap ones...

in our pasar malam section, alway can find cheap cheap LRs, some kind souls even give away for free...that's how i got all my LRs...i have about 80kg of LRs, but spend less than $150 for all of them...some pieces i imported from Bintan some more (i took it from the beach, dun say steal hor)...hahahahha

I second Typrobin ....definitely not so expensive. U can try some of the sponsors here.

[Melvyn Tan]

Average cured or uncured about S$8 per kg bulk quantity can be as low as S$5-6/kg

[darkstar]

Really?

I got the price from S**L*** and W*K** leh.. Lucky I didn't commit yet.

But umm.. I learnt from alpharomeo,he got his LR from CF and it was $18/kg!!! So i thought my rate was cheap huh. Then again, I saw his rocks, they were really big.

ya, will check out with SRC's sponsors.

[Ekia]

Really?

I got the price from S**L*** and W*K** leh.. Lucky I didn't commit yet.

But umm.. I learnt from alpharomeo,he got his LR from CF and it was $18/kg!!! So i thought my rate was cheap huh. Then again, I saw his rocks, they were really big.

ya, will check out with SRC's sponsors.

check with pasir ris farms.. their prices are quite good... CF LRs are expensive but they are really nice... one look and u will know...

[daddycool]

sorry bro but where is CF ah?

[Ekia]

Coral Farm.. at LCK