Dry Rock Question

[Tito]

I recently acquired some dried out live rock - it's been dry for a few months so I seriously doubt anything is live. I placed the rocks in some fresh water to rinse them and soak them and they began to smell like masonry or cement or something - it's really hard to identify or compare the odor to something common. I've also noticed that there is a lot of chalky substance on the rock that rubs off when I handle it. Based upon some reading I've done I believe that white stuff is dead coralline algae. My question is - will I have to scrub this dead algae off the rock or can I just place the rock in my tank. I will be setting the tank up from scratch so it is not an established aquarium. By the way the odor on the rocks is not foul or rotting like just a funky smell that I am not accustom to - and when the rocks were dry they had no scent at all.

 

[jazzsam]

I recently acquired some dried out live rock - it's been dry for a few months so I seriously doubt anything is live. I placed the rocks in some fresh water to rinse them and soak them and they began to smell like masonry or cement or something - it's really hard to identify or compare the odor to something common. I've also noticed that there is a lot of chalky substance on the rock that rubs off when I handle it. Based upon some reading I've done I believe that white stuff is dead coralline algae. My question is - will I have to scrub this dead algae off the rock or can I just place the rock in my tank. I will be setting the tank up from scratch so it is not an established aquarium. By the way the odor on the rocks is not foul or rotting like just a funky smell that I am not accustom to - and when the rocks were dry they had no scent at all.

I was told that even dry rock must cure. After that i would guess it would be fine.

 

[Phyl]

The "stuff" still on the rocks might be enough to cause a cycle for you (something you want to do as your tank starts off so that you have some bacteria in the tank to process the fish waste). If it isn't you'll need to add an ammonia source (ammonia, coctail shrimp, etc) so that the cycle can get started before you put fish into the tank.

Your worry isn't that anything is alive, it is that any formerly living stuff still inside of the rock has a chance to "burn off" before you try to support life in the tank.

Good luck and enjoy!