Cycling a new tank

[Michelle Crossley]

Hi there

I am in the process of moving toa bigger tank. I am nicely going through my stages. Jam at diatoms at the moment.
Is what I would like to know is what stage do you switch the skimmer on?

 

[Jason mack]

Hi Michelle,If it's a new skimmer it will need too be broken in for a couple of weeks first so you could put it on now and just let it run ...if its it's not new I would put it on when you start too add cuc ...

 

[Michelle Crossley]

Hi Michelle,If it's a new skimmer it will need too be broken in for a couple of weeks first so you could put it on now and just let it run ...if its it's not new I would put it on when you start too add cuc ...

My worry is that I need to go through the horrible cyano and algae stages. If I put my skimmer on will it start cleaning up the bacteria that makes the cyano etc

 

[Jason mack]

It all depends on your new set up ...if you are upgrading too a bigger tank and you've added more rock or if you've started with dry rock before setting everything over ...you will probably go through some sort of cycle ...your skimmer istnt going too remove cyno or algea ..until you start too add a bio load too your tank your skimmer has nothing too skim

 

[Deiblerj]

I hate to break it to you but I can almost guarantee you’ll have some sort of algae, Dino’s, diatoms, uglies for the first few months at the least regardless if you used the same rock, sand, water, whatever. The smallest disturbence can cause an outbreak. Run the skimmer now to get it broken in to your new system and let the tank do it’s thing. Everything will work out it just takes some time.

I cycled my tank with no algae. As soon as I added fish and my biload increased I had a horrible outbreak. It went away after a few months. Just keep track of your parameters and be able to identify what is causing your outbreaks and control them.

 

[Porpoise Hork]

I hate to break it to you but I can almost guarantee you’ll have some sort of algae, Dino’s, diatoms, uglies for the first few months at the least regardless if you used the same rock, sand, water, whatever. The smallest disturbence can cause an outbreak. Run the skimmer now to get it broken in to your new system and let the tank do it’s thing. Everything will work out it just takes some time.

Pretty much this.

 

[Michelle Crossley]

I hate to break it to you but I can almost guarantee you’ll have some sort of algae, Dino’s, diatoms, uglies for the first few months at the least regardless if you used the same rock, sand, water, whatever. The smallest disturbence can cause an outbreak. Run the skimmer now to get it broken in to your new system and let the tank do it’s thing. Everything will work out it just takes some time.

I cycled my tank with no algae. As soon as I added fish and my biload increased I had a horrible outbreak. It went away after a few months. Just keep track of your parameters and be able to identify what is causing your outbreaks and control them.

Thank you for your help. I will put the skimmer on now.
So when all my parameters are OK is that when I start adding livestock. Also what point do I add the clean up crew

 

[Deiblerj]

Thank you for your help. I will put the skimmer on now.
So when all my parameters are OK is that when I start adding livestock. Also what point do I add the clean up crew

Yes, when you see 0 ammonia, 0 nitrite, nitrate within reason and phos within reason you can safely add livestock. I would add your cuc first. This will help clean the tank up of any algae you may have. It’s also a good test to see if your tank is fish safe or not (as horrible as that sounds). If your crabs/snails are dying for no reason it’s probably safe to say your water isn’t fish ready yet. Post your parameters here and we can help you determine the status of your cycle.