Cured vs Uncured rock to start a tank?

[Rapture]

I was recently given a Boicube 8 and I have been researching mods, corals, fish, etc.

I am a little confused about the initial start up of a salt tank. I know that I need to fill the tank with water and make sure it is in an acceptable temp range, but other than that, do I immediately add live rock and live sand? Does it matter if I start out with cured live rock if the water is not yet cycled, or do I need to use uncured live rock to cycle the tank, and then add cured after the cycle is complete? Same question for the live sand, does the water need to be cycled first, or can I actually use the live sand and cured rock to cycle the tank?

I'm also planning on making the middle filter chamber a refugium with rock rubble and algae. I just don't want to get cured rock if ammonia and nitrite is going to harm it?

[johnnymisty]

Well first is to use ro/di water and a good sea salt mix. I like red sea coral pro salt. Put your sand in rocks in fill the tank and start your cycle. To start the cycle just toss in a dead shrimp the kind you eat and let it decompose and that'll start the cycle. Cured rock helps speed up the process but isn't necessary since any sand or rock you put in will become live with bacteria soon enough.
Check online for an intank media basket for the biocube fits in the middle chamber and holds live rock rubble cheato and whatever else you want in the 3rd chamber

[Rapture]

Thanks for the info. Seems like it would be easy to make a DIY basket, so I am going to try that out.

[Rapture]

Should cured rock be acclimated at all or just put directly into tanks?

[rage]

Acclimation is only intended to fish, corals and other living things that are sensitive to changes in environment, temperature, pH and others.

If the rocks are cured then you can put them directly in your tank. All they have in them are the beneficial bacterias. (unless you over-cure them, you may kill the bacterias but that is not too bad, they will come back)

You shouldn't put rocks directly in your tank only if they are not cured, eg, they have a lot of undesired things growing or living in them, or when those living things are dying off. When they do, they produce too much ammonia that pollute your tank which requires you to manage, eg, water changes ...

[Rapture]

Thanks, I've never really heard of anyone acclimating live rock, but I have heard of them coming with living things in/on them, so I wasn't completely sure.

[rage]

Thanks, I've never really heard of anyone acclimating live rock, but I have heard of them coming with living things in/on them, so I wasn't completely sure.

If the rocks come directly from someone's tank and you can trust that person not to have undesired living things in his rocks (worms, majano anenome to name 2) then you actually do not want to cure or kill the beneficial living things in them. You want to keep those rocks wet and put them quickly in your tank.
Does that make sense?

[johnnymisty]

If the rocks come directly from someone's tank and you can trust that person not to have undesired living things in his rocks (worms, majano anenome to name 2) then you actually do not want to cure or kill the beneficial living things in them. You want to keep those rocks wet and put them quickly in your tank.
Does that make sense?

+1 ya I want thinkin of bad stuff I dry the rock out spray them off before adding them be careful of mejanos nothing will eat them and they multiply fast and are a pain in the arse I have some I've been killing off the last year just when I think its all good and there gone boom 3 more show up

[Bakapuma]

I prefer uncured rock just because it has all of those interesting critters in and on them. If it is an undesireable critter I normally get rid of those as I come to them. I want my system to have the maximum amount of biodiversity. One of the coolest things I have found in this hobby is discovering something new in my system, then having to id it. Sadly my last batch of uncured rock was pretty dead when I recieved it. Not much life left. But cured rock is easier to deal with. To each their own I suppose.