Marine Advice: Marine Aquarium Live Rock

How much live rock do I need for my reef aquarium?
This is a difficult question to answer as live rock varies greatly in density and porosity. For filtration purposes in a reef system a general recommendation would be 0.68kg per gallon and for a fish only system 0.45kg per gallon although you may want to add more for aesthetic reasons.
Do I need to cure the live rock I have purchased?
Live rock is available either cured or uncured.
Live rock needs to be cured to allow plant and marine life, especially sponges living on the rock to undergo die-back without polluting the aquarium.
Cured live rock tends to have less unwanted species like bristle worms and mantis shrimps. Regardless, both types need to be cured before adding them to an existing aquarium. In a new set up live rock can be cured in the aquarium with no fish, corals or invertebrates.
Before curing the live rock you should mix a food grade bucket of salt water at a high specific gravity of 1.035 to 1.040. Submerge the live rock for one minute and any unwanted pests will quickly evacuate and you can then remove the rock carefully wearing gloves and remove any bristle worms that may be still clinging to the rock with tweezers. You may find some species that you may want to keep but please use tweezers to remove then to avoid any nasty encounters with bristle worms and mantis shrimps. Below are some tips for curing live rock:
Curing process for the established aquarium that already contains fish corals or invertebrates: - Place live rock in a suitable container cover with salt water at a specific gravity of 1.023 – 1.025 and add a heater and either an air pump or power head for water movement. It is also important too keep lighting levels low to avoid nuisance algae growth. Water temperature should be about 27 degrees Celsius too speed up the rate of die-back. Carry out 100 percent water changes twice a week scrubbing the live rock with a nylon brush in-between water changes. It should be fully cured in one to three weeks when nitrite and ammonia readings remain at zero.
Curing process for a new aquarium with no fish or marine animals: - Fill a food grade bucket with salt water and rinse live rock removing any loose organic matter and debris. Place live rock into fully set up aquarium with all equipment installed, specific gravity of 1.023 to 1.025 and a temperature of 25 to 27 degrees Celsius. Keep lighting off to avoid nuisance algae growth and scrub the rocks with a nylon brush periodically to remove any detritus. Perform 50 percent water changes weekly using a suitable aquarium vacuum to remove any loose debris that accumulates on the bottom. Test for ammonia and nitrite weekly and when these levels are zero perform a 50 percent water change. It will take between two and four weeks to cycle the aquarium in this way.

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