live rock and sand curing

[alex1030]

I recently got my own sand and rock off the shore. I live in florida so I was able to get some live rock and sand myself. 40lbs of rock and 30lbs of sand. My friends have property on the oceanside and I was able to get some off their beach. I put the rock and sand in r/o for 2 days. Then I let it sun dry for 5 days. I then scrubbed and clean it out with air pressure. The rock is now currently in a new 30 gallon tank and seems to be done cycling. I have 2 other tanks with store bought cured rock and have had so many problems with hitchhikers. This tank is for the office and everything is diy. I hope my attempt at curing turns out better the the lfs stuff.

[Ptyochromis]

I would toss the rock back and get new rock. You have effectively made yourself non-life rock from live rock.... I would get fresh rock and scrub it down at location before you bring it home. If you have some stuborn crabs/mantis shrimp, you could give the rock a dunk in hypertonic SW, but leaving it in FW and then in the sun is a great way to kill your LR and make your cycle very long and very dirty.

The best LR come from deeper water. The big problem with rock from intertidal zones is that it contains many animals that rely on crashing waves and/or periods with no water to survive; a prime example is the coquina clam and various crabs.

[alex1030]

From my understanding what makes the rock live is the bateria that builds up on the rock and sand. I,ve put 10 gallons of water from my other established tank and bio balls from my sump too. It might take longer, but I see no reason why to chuck it. I know people who have cooked the rocks and they have them in long established systems. I'm going this route cause a quick r/o dip on the live rock i bought from the store did help any. I would also like some feed back on a easy inexpensive diy for led lighting. I dont want to spend more that $100 on the lighting. I do have all the wood, metal and wiring already at my shop. I also need some feed back on overflows. Should i buy a h.o.b overflow box or just go with just piping into the tank. This system is a 30 gallon with a 10 gallon sump/fuge. Any feed back on lighting,sump,overflows,returns,bio or chemical would be greatly appreciated.

[Ptyochromis]

True, but not all bacteria are created equal. A few tough species will survive but many of the aquatic species and most (if not all) of the microfauna will be lost. I'm also not convinced that coraline will survive in FW or out of water for as long as you had it.
My favorite part about the LR was the hitchhikers, i lucked out with stomatella and various NPS corals while only having to remove about 15 xanthids :P

For lighting, you can check e-bay for par38 LEDs, they cost about $30 a bulb. I use them to light my tank. Although they only have 45 degree reflectors so you really have to pack them in.

In a 30gal, I personally would do an overflow box (built in or HOB). You could drill the tank but you will end up loosing some volume in the DT. A standpipe overflow will save your DT volume but can be noisy (also, don't drill the bottom of the tank if it's tempered, which it often is). A 1" pipe should be good for your effluent, it can handle ~800 gph; so go for the biggest return pump you can get (stay under 800gph lol).
For filtration, I would fill the sump with sand ~4", plant sea grass (will help prevent nutrient buildup in the DSB, but needs lots of light) and grow some chaeto.

[ca1ore]

From my understanding what makes the rock live is the bateria that builds up on the rock and sand.

Well, not really. I suppose people might use that term to describe dry rock that has been in an established aquarium for a while and is bacteriologically 'active', but to my mind 'live' rock is that PLUS all of the sea life that comes along with rocks that have been in the ocean - algae, worms, small sponges, etc. OK, some of that stuff does not survive shipping and is eliminated during the curing process, but the net result is rock with a much more divers flora and fauna. If live rock were simply rocks plus bacteria, then nobody would ever bother to pay the premium.

[alex1030]

Thank you ptyochromis. I wasn't going to drill for the piping to the sump. What i was thinking was to use 1/2 pvc to run into the tank 90 down to the bottom of the display tank then 90 back up to the top water level. Then it would just over flow into the top of the pvc down then over the tank and gravity back to the sump. This would be easy than making the h.o.b overflow. I've seen the par 38s for a while know and it looks like one of the best options. Thanks again.

[Ptyochromis]

Anytime, if you have more questions just ask

Quick comment about your effluent piping. I ran some numbers a while back for a diy overflow with a u-bend trap; If i remember correctly, the max flow was under 100gph with a 1" pipe.