Aeration in new tank?

[APrince62]

so I’m almost ready to aquascape and fill new sw tank, just waiting for hubby to install RO/di system. As I was going over what I had to do to get aquarium ready for fish I got to wondering.....while tank is cycling where does it get aeration from? I’m setting up a 75 gallon with live sand and rock,no sump, a HOB protein skimmer....which if I understood correctly I don’t run during cycling. So is there any need for anything else running in tank during first cycle?

 

[inktomi]

You can run your protein skimmer during the cycle, it might not pull out much though. Otherwise, the surface agitation of your water will exchange Oxygen with the air.

Running your skimmer during the cycle might prolong it a bit, but on the flip side you could always just set it to be super dry so it won't pull much out while still aerating the water.

During your cycle you won't have much alive in the tank using Oxygen as well.