More Rock

So today I picked up 13lbs of live rock from a local reefer and brought it home in a bag. I have had it sitting in the bag with no water all day. I want it to all turn to base rock so It doesn't throw my tank into a cycle. How long should I wait for it to become base rock and is there any other steps I should take to get there?

 

Anyone?

 

NO!!!! don't do that!!! put the rock in a tupperware tub with saltwater and "cure" it in that tub, by doing that you may as well burn the money you spent on it, if you would have put it in a bucket from the LFS and put it right in the tank, NO CYCLE!! thats if its cured from your LFS but now that its been sitting out you have had partial die off and you have to re-cure it in a tub, just let it sit with a couple powerhead a skimmer if you have it and keep ckecking the levels, until they all level off.

 

if you really want base rock, fill up your bath-tub and add 2 or 3 cups bleach... let them soak over night and tomorrow scrub off everything, but that would completely ruin everything beneficial, hence the reason you bought live rock. i think you need to do a little reading...

 

I agree, just bleach it. Soak it in a mixture of RO/DI water and baking soda then rinse and let it dry. Then just add it to your tank. As long as it's not a major addition, you should be fine. If it greater than 20% of your rock you already have, then you may want to add it in two different steps. But if your able to scrub most of the organic stuff off, it won't matter. This will also prevent any unwanted algae or pests from entering your tank. Good luck.

 

Yup, was gonna say"just let it dry, then scrub all the crap off, rinse...".

 

I'm guessing you miss understood me. My tank is well established and I would rather not cause a mini cycle. I was going to purchase base rock off the internet but I found this guy who broke down his tank and was selling his live rock at the same price. I got 13lbs for $20. I wasn't looking for live rock nor paying top $ for it either. I just want base rock.