Keep Filter, Lights on During LR Curing?

karaim

I am curing my live rocks and cycling the tank. Should I keep the filter and lights on?

SKAustin

Lighting is better left off during the curing process unless you have hitchhiker corals that require light. The lighting may help to encourage coralline growth during this period, but may also serve to encourage undesirable algae growth as well, especially with the excess nutrients available during the curing process. Remember that you want the bacterias to feed on the nutrients and repopulate the rock. Filtration is also not necessary at this point. The live rock should be your primary source of filtration, so just keep adequate flow within the tank, and let the Live Rock do it's job.

karaim

Thanks for help.

How should I circulate the water? I didn't buy a pump for the airflow yet. Can I just run the filter and take the cartridge out? That way the water circulates but there is no filtration?