How do I cycle Marco Rocks?

[lin0501]

I purchased some rocks which I was told are Marco Rocks. I'm confused on what I should do with them. I know I shouldn't put them directly in my tank so I placed them in a bin with tap water and a powerhead. Within 24hrs, there was a smell coming from the bin which I'm assuming is ammonia. Should I be using a heater also in the bin? Should I dump out the tap water and use saltwater to start the cycle with some live rock or sand?

[jarrett shark]

is the rock dry or live

[lin0501]

is the rock dry or live

It was dry when I first got it but I read that I wasn't suppose to place them directly in my established tank so I placed them in a tub with tap water and a powerhead.

[tor101898]

soak it in water (tap) until you get all the dust and dirt out. Then soak them in salt water with some vinegar to clean out the dead matter in the rock.

after you are satisfied that the water is clean, place the rock in saltwater add a bacterial source and some vodka, I added 1 cup of vodka in a 32 gallon tub with about 50 lbs of rock. I also used microbacter 7 as the bacterial source. I left this in the tub for about 5 days without light and a powerhead.as the days went on the smell got horrendous. On the 5th day even with a cover the smell had permeated throughout the basement,horrible smell. I took the rock and power washed it outside. then i started the process again with the vodka and bacteria. it took 4 weeks, but the rock is now clean and phosphate free and debris free. this is what I did with my marco rock, but there are other processes.

[tjsreeftank]

I just rinsed mine off and put them in the tankl.

[tor101898]

Marco rocks are great looking rocks,however even when they have been cured its still a good idea to give them a good cleaning. It saves you problems in the long run.

[lin0501]

soak it in water (tap) until you get all the dust and dirt out. Then soak them in salt water with some vinegar to clean out the dead matter in the rock.

after you are satisfied that the water is clean, place the rock in saltwater add a bacterial source and some vodka, I added 1 cup of vodka in a 32 gallon tub with about 50 lbs of rock. I also used microbacter 7 as the bacterial source. I left this in the tub for about 5 days without light and a powerhead.as the days went on the smell got horrendous. On the 5th day even with a cover the smell had permeated throughout the basement,horrible smell. I took the rock and power washed it outside. then i started the process again with the vodka and bacteria. it took 4 weeks, but the rock is now clean and phosphate free and debris free. this is what I did with my marco rock, but there are other processes.

Do I use a heater during this process?

[lin0501]

I just rinsed mine off and put them in the tankl.

I was going to do that too but I remember reading on here about the phosphates problems and I didn't want to cause any algae or other problems in my tank.

[nanojg]

I just put mine in my tank and added a small piece of live rock. Had a very small cyno outbreak but that was gone in a week.

[kelleyga36]

I just rinsed mine and added straight to tank.

[pech29]

I wouldn't use tap water, RO is best.

[imcosmokramer]

I just used it in two builds (here's onehttp://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1725836&page=4)

I would for sure cure it. Just run it in an ro water bath for a few days (use a powerhead). Shake the rock every day to get the junk off of it, then you should be good.

[TRBOFISH]

I would also be ready to do a couple more water changes if you see any nutrient spikes.

[wooden_reefer]

It was dry when I first got it but I read that I wasn't suppose to place them directly in my established tank so I placed them in a tub with tap water and a powerhead.

So you only read that you should not put rock of unknown status and origin into an establish DT.

If you have not read so, would you have added it into the DT?

Do you understand the reasons why you should not?

You may not need to "cycle" this rock if it is intended for an establish DT.

Concerns are ammonia surge due to decay and infection by patheogens. So soak it for weeks to allow all decay to take place and then sterilize it .

If you indeed want to cycle the rock, it is very easy. You are cycling from the dead, meaning no lives to safe. You may want to sterilize the rock to kill patheogens before starting the cycle You just cycle the rock in a separate container, add bacteria seed from DT, saltwater (may be from WC of DT), a source of ammonia, circulate and promote gaseous exchange. No need to change any water during the cycle. Five weeks later your rock will be cycled.

[vegaskid11]

Both orders of Marco rocks I got needed a full cooking to clean them up. These rocks will are awesome, but they are chock full of organics.

[lordofthereef]

+1 on RO water. No need to go salt just yet but I also would personally avoid tap. If you have a tds reader and know the TDS of the water going in, that would be helpful. To start off I would gives them a scrubbing or at least blast all of the loose particles with water. That will get a lot of junk off from the getgo.

[reeflord]

soak,rinse, scrub, and rinse..... then add to your tank, its good idea for any live rock added to a new system... it will save headaches in the future

[lin0501]

So you only read that you should not put rock of unknown status and origin into an establish DT.

If you have not read so, would you have added it into the DT?

Do you understand the reasons why you should not?

You may not need to "cycle" this rock if it is intended for an establish DT.

Concerns are ammonia surge due to decay and infection by patheogens. So soak it for weeks to allow all decay to take place and then sterilize it .

If you indeed want to cycle the rock, it is very easy. You are cycling from the dead, meaning no lives to safe. You may want to sterilize the rock to kill patheogens before starting the cycle You just cycle the rock in a separate container, add bacteria seed from DT, saltwater (may be from WC of DT), a source of ammonia, circulate and promote gaseous exchange. No need to change any water during the cycle. Five weeks later your rock will be cycled.

I do understand why I shouldn't just place rocks in my DT but there seems to be different opinions on Marco Rocks. Some people just rinse them off and put it in their tanks while others soak them for a few weeks. Just to be on the safe side, I will place the rocks in a container along with saltwater from my water change this weekend as you suggested and a powerhead to circulate it. Do I need a heater in there as well?

[AFWX]

I am thinking about getting mostly dry rock from Marco Rocks when I set up a new tank. Do I still need to cycle them in a different container, or can I cycle them with the tank? I will be seeding with a live rock from a friend.

[vegaskid11]

Just take your dry marco rock and put it in some water for a couple days. Then have a whiff, You may throw up from the smell:lmao:

[tjsreeftank]

I didnt have no problems with just adding them to my tank.

[khaosinc]

I hosed mine off with a garden hose in the driveway, then in the tank they went. I did have a bit of an algea bloom, but nothing a decent sized clean up crew couldn't handle.

[reeffer]

when you do a water change, save them and put your macro rocks in there with a heater and pump for a couple of days.

[D' kingfisher]

pressure washer them if you have one...Thats what my friend did..

[jjstecchino]

I set up my 180 gal tank with MarcoRocks, the Fiji variety. They are awesome rocks, however they need to be handled with care.

They come dry and pretreated. They are very white, I think because they are bleached. Still they have quite a good amount of organic matter on them. Also people have noticed that even after "cooking" them appropriately they tend to leach phosphate. For this reason it is recommended to treat them with a mild acid such as vinegar to remove the phosphate ridden outer layer. Do not leave them in vinegar too long because they will dissolve and shrink in size.

You then need to put them in a curing vat with saltwater and a powerhead. You can use a bacterial starter product if you want but it is not necessary since you have to cure this rocks for at least 4 weeks to get rid of all the organics they contain. By this time you are done nitrifying bacteria would have grown anyway since they are pretty much ubiquitous.

At this point the rocks are ready for use. I treated this way 180lb of rocks, set up my new aquarium and patiently waited for a cycle. The cycle never happened. I added fish, my ammonia, nitrite and nitrates never went up, like if the tank was already established. I experienced a very short (2 days) diatom bloom, very minimal cyano and now 3 months in the rocks are starting to show spots of coralline algae that are rapidly spreading.

If you are interested in the process I documented what I did, the equipment I used with a lot of pictures in my thread HERE (http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1643671&page=2).

[mtothet]

I used mine to cycle the tank

[lancer99]

Stop arguing!

Some of the stuff that Marco ships is very clean, with very little organic matter, and doesn't need to be cured (beyond a soak to remove dust etc.).

Some of it's very dirty, and needs to be cured just as you would for uncured live rock.

-R

[D' kingfisher]

hehehe yeah stop arguing..:rollface: do what he said..

[lin0501]

Stop arguing!

Some of the stuff that Marco ships is very clean, with very little organic matter, and doesn't need to be cured (beyond a soak to remove dust etc.).

Some of it's very dirty, and needs to be cured just as you would for uncured live rock.

-R

I don't think anyone is arguing, just stating their experiences. I think mine came from the dirty batch so I guess I'll leave them in the container for now.

[lin0501]

I set up my 180 gal tank with MarcoRocks, the Fiji variety. They are awesome rocks, however they need to be handled with care.

They come dry and pretreated. They are very white, I think because they are bleached. Still they have quite a good amount of organic matter on them. Also people have noticed that even after "cooking" them appropriately they tend to leach phosphate. For this reason it is recommended to treat them with a mild acid such as vinegar to remove the phosphate ridden outer layer. Do not leave them in vinegar too long because they will dissolve and shrink in size.

You then need to put them in a curing vat with saltwater and a powerhead. You can use a bacterial starter product if you want but it is not necessary since you have to cure this rocks for at least 4 weeks to get rid of all the organics they contain. By this time you are done nitrifying bacteria would have grown anyway since they are pretty much ubiquitous.

At this point the rocks are ready for use. I treated this way 180lb of rocks, set up my new aquarium and patiently waited for a cycle. The cycle never happened. I added fish, my ammonia, nitrite and nitrates never went up, like if the tank was already established. I experienced a very short (2 days) diatom bloom, very minimal cyano and now 3 months in the rocks are starting to show spots of coralline algae that are rapidly spreading.

If you are interested in the process I documented what I did, the equipment I used with a lot of pictures in my thread HERE (http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1643671&page=2).

I think I'll try some vinegar. How long should I leave it in?