After "Cooking" Tank Re-Assembly

[CABBIE]

I'm five weeks into "cooking" or "dark curing" my live rock after pulling it from a system that has been up for three years. This was done in an attempt to rid the tank of aptasia, valonia, and some kind of wirey red algae I cannot ID. I can say that the sponges and pods are doing fine in the dark. Aptasia, on the other hand, don't seem to like it much. While the dark isn't killing them, they are migrating to the top rocks and water line on the tub. This makes them very easy to kill, and me quite happy. Overall, the process appears to work, as the rock gets cleaner and cleaner each week after I do my water change, dunk and swish. My plan is to wait until mid-June for vacation time to put the tank back together. All told, that will be about three months committed to the process. Right now, my tank is full of eggcrate racks that hold all my corals. The system has always been barebottom. My wife says it looks like the sales tanks at the LFS.

Before putting all the rock back in, I want to completely empty the tank and sump, thoroughly clean everything out, and allow it to sit dry for 24 hours. This is in hopes of eliminating any residual spores that may exist in the system, and just start fresh with everything like new.

I plan on taking the corals out and placing them in a small kiddie pool with the existing tank water. I will put my skimmer and a powerhead in the pool for movement and filtration. This set up will only need to last 48 hours. Heat should not be an issue.

When I have the tank and sump clean, and it has sat dry for 24 hours, I want to rebuild like new. I want to mix up enough new water to fill the system, let it mature for 24 hours, and add my newly "cooked" live rock. I would then like to add my corals immediately, and put an end to this lengthy process.

Will this work? Can I add the corals to the newly cleaned tank and rock without fear, or does the tank need to cycle a whole month before I can add the corals? Am I missing something here?

Thanks for yur input in advance!

 

[Krish]

Hmm...I would think the tank may need to cycle again to build up the bacterial colonies etc. I couldn't say for sure because I've never tried "cooking" my rock the way you have. I've only basically killed my rock by leaving it out in the sun for a few months and seeding it with new LR. Hopefully someone with more experience will chime in soon. Best of luck to ya

 

[The Apprentice]

No fish?

Cabbie Is it correct you have no fish? As for the live rock If you get the rock all cleaned up and have it @ around 72-79 deg and you have a protien skimmer on it for 2-3 weeks test it for Ammonia, Nitrite & Nitrates
Let your chemistry results be your guide. Every tank reacts diffrently But I kind of agree with Krish I think you will see a cycle ( How much?? ) Test the water after you get your rock cleaned up and use it as a guide...HTH...Jeff

I'm five weeks into "cooking" or "dark curing" my live rock after pulling it from a system that has been up for three years. This was done in an attempt to rid the tank of aptasia, valonia, and some kind of wirey red algae I cannot ID. I can say that the sponges and pods are doing fine in the dark. Aptasia, on the other hand, don't seem to like it much. While the dark isn't killing them, they are migrating to the top rocks and water line on the tub. This makes them very easy to kill, and me quite happy. Overall, the process appears to work, as the rock gets cleaner and cleaner each week after I do my water change, dunk and swish. My plan is to wait until mid-June for vacation time to put the tank back together. All told, that will be about three months committed to the process. Right now, my tank is full of eggcrate racks that hold all my corals. The system has always been barebottom. My wife says it looks like the sales tanks at the LFS.

Before putting all the rock back in, I want to completely empty the tank and sump, thoroughly clean everything out, and allow it to sit dry for 24 hours. This is in hopes of eliminating any residual spores that may exist in the system, and just start fresh with everything like new.

I plan on taking the corals out and placing them in a small kiddie pool with the existing tank water. I will put my skimmer and a powerhead in the pool for movement and filtration. This set up will only need to last 48 hours. Heat should not be an issue.

When I have the tank and sump clean, and it has sat dry for 24 hours, I want to rebuild like new. I want to mix up enough new water to fill the system, let it mature for 24 hours, and add my newly "cooked" live rock. I would then like to add my corals immediately, and put an end to this lengthy process.

Will this work? Can I add the corals to the newly cleaned tank and rock without fear, or does the tank need to cycle a whole month before I can add the corals? Am I missing something here?

Thanks for yur input in advance!