When live rock is removed from saltwater, it begins to die off. There are hundreds of thousands of creatures living inside of the rock. Some of them can be seen with the naked eye, others cannot. Regardless of weather the rock is "cured" or not the rock begins to die when it is removed from the water. Some of the life will survive shipping and some of it will not. The parts of the live rock that die in shipping need to be allowed to decay outside of your display aquarium. If you were to put a large amount of uncured live rock into your aquarium, it would case a nitrate, nitrite, and ammonia spike in your aquarium. This could possibly kill any fish or coral you currently have. So regardless of whether the rock is "cured", it should always be allowed to cure after receiving it. This can easily be done with garbage cans. A large garbage can of at least 30 gallons makes a great vessel to cure live rock in. Simply place the new live rock in the garbage can and cover it completely with saltwater. A powerhead circulating the water and a heater set to 78°F will speed up the process. You should change the water in the garbage can every 5 days. When the water tests normal (no ammonia, nitrite, or nitrate) the rock can be added to an aquarium with livestock. If you still have questions, chat live with an expert.

When your live rock arrives, it will not have much color on it. Because the live rock has been out of the water, some of the color will disappear. This is normal. With time and the proper nutrients, the live rock will come back to live with brilliant purple, pink, and green colors. Calcium is very important to maintain the coraline algae's vibrant colors. Make sure you are using a two part calcium additive weekly. You also should add a good trace elements product. This will insure that the coraline algae has all of the necessary nutrients to come back to life. If you still have questions, chat live with an expert.

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Live rock varies depending on where in the world it comes from. Live rock that comes from some places tends to be more branching while other places it is more round. Most online live rock stores show pictures of typical pieces of live rock. It all depends on your budget and what you want the rock to look like. The shape and look of the live rock will not effect its beneficial properties. Live rock can survive up to 3 days out of water assuming it stays moist. Most companies ship rock with moist newspapers to keep it alive during shipping. It is not worth the money to have live rock overnighted. Typically 2-3 day shipping is fine for live rock. Start a chat session now.

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The easiest way to cure live rock is in garbage cans. Garbage cans of at least 30 gallons can be filled with fresh saltwater and the live rock can be placed in the cans. Make sure to cover all of the rock with saltwater. Every 5 days the water in the garbage can will need to be changed. After several weeks the water will start be clean up and the nitrate, nitrite, and ammonia levels should begin to decline. When the water tests shows 0ppm of ammonia and nitirite, the rock can be added to an aquarium with livestock. You can speed up the curing process by changing the water more frequently. Another way to cure the rock faster is to place a heater in the curing garbage can set to 78°