Cycling and skimmer

[drino]

Hi R2R,

We’re cycling (2 weeks in, RO/DI water, 75 G DT, 20G sump, dry BRS reefbuilder rock and dry Aragon heavy sand, some crushed coral substrate, fishless cycle using Dr Tim’s). Brand new Bubble Marcus Curve 5 skimmer. Dosed Bio-Spira. Watching ammonia and nitrites mainly. pH rock steady at 8. Temp 79. Waiting for ammonia and nitrites to get around 0 still slow coming down from a dose of ammonia to 2ppm. So cycle not near close, currently ammonia about .25 and nitrites about 2. Nitrates about 80. Yikes. Waiting for some consistent ammonia and nitrite levels to lower to 0 in 24 hours before massive water change. I put the skimmer on a couple days into the cycle figuring break in (new). It overflowed like crazy for a week, but is now doing its thing, producing wet skimmate? Bubbles around the neck? Some nasty brown sludge in the neck. I see contradictory ideas - start skimmer during the cycle to break in - or don’t start skimmer until end of cycle. Should the skimmer be off or on?

 

[CC13]

Hi R2R,

We’re cycling (2 weeks in, RO/DI water, 75 G DT, 20G sump, dry BRS reefbuilder rock and dry Aragon heavy sand, some crushed coral substrate, fishless cycle using Dr Tim’s). Brand new Bubble Marcus Curve 5 skimmer. Dosed Bio-Spira. Watching ammonia and nitrites mainly. pH rock steady at 8. Temp 79. Waiting for ammonia and nitrites to get around 0 still slow coming down from a dose of ammonia to 2ppm. So cycle not near close, currently ammonia about .25 and nitrites about 2. Nitrates about 80. Yikes. Waiting for some consistent ammonia and nitrite levels to lower to 0 in 24 hours before massive water change. I put the skimmer on a couple days into the cycle figuring break in (new). It overflowed like crazy for a week, but is now doing its thing, producing wet skimmate? Bubbles around the neck? Some nasty brown sludge in the neck. I see contradictory ideas - start skimmer during the cycle to break in - or don’t start skimmer until end of cycle. Should the skimmer be off or on?

I always run the skimmer from the very beginning. You don’t ‘need’ to, but only good things come from running your skimmer and there are no drawbacks to having it going from the very beginning.

 

[hdsoftail1065]

Hi R2R,

We’re cycling (2 weeks in, RO/DI water, 75 G DT, 20G sump, dry BRS reefbuilder rock and dry Aragon heavy sand, some crushed coral substrate, fishless cycle using Dr Tim’s). Brand new Bubble Marcus Curve 5 skimmer. Dosed Bio-Spira. Watching ammonia and nitrites mainly. pH rock steady at 8. Temp 79. Waiting for ammonia and nitrites to get around 0 still slow coming down from a dose of ammonia to 2ppm. So cycle not near close, currently ammonia about .25 and nitrites about 2. Nitrates about 80. Yikes. Waiting for some consistent ammonia and nitrite levels to lower to 0 in 24 hours before massive water change. I put the skimmer on a couple days into the cycle figuring break in (new). It overflowed like crazy for a week, but is now doing its thing, producing wet skimmate? Bubbles around the neck? Some nasty brown sludge in the neck. I see contradictory ideas - start skimmer during the cycle to break in - or don’t start skimmer until end of cycle. Should the skimmer be off or on?

I just finished my cycle and seeded some pods. It was recommended to me to leave the skimmer off, without any inhabitants it's going to drain your tank of nutrients almost immediately.

 

[CC13]

I just finished my cycle and seeded some pods. It was recommended to me to leave the skimmer off, without any inhabitants it's going to drain your tank of nutrients almost immediately.

Skimmer starts pulling waste and die off.

How would running a skimmer be detrimental during a cycle but not after. That makes zero sense.

 

[hdsoftail1065]

Sharing the info provided to me, you can look at page 7 of my build thread. This is my first sizable build and just finished my cycle. I asked the same question as the op.

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/hds-144-build-check-this-one-out.384638/page-7

 

[Smprc]

a quick heads up, since you started with dry rock and sand, the cycle might take a bit longer. It did for my tank. But rest assured it will cycle, no question. I turned my skimmer on, but kept it low so as to not necessarily pull anything but more to break it in. I kept adjusting it weekly by raising the bubble level and playing with the pump. Just my 2 cents. I trust McCrabs, but reality is you'll be changing the water, thus "exporting" more nutrients and the nutrients will be replenished the second you start feeding. I wouldn't worry about that at all. I can only say take your time. You didn't specify what kind of tank you are aiming for, reef, fowlr, mix...etc. All I can say is take your time, ask a lot of questions, take the replies with a grain of salt, and QT, QT, and QT...that's about the one thing I would definitely do. Good luck!

 

[drino]

a quick heads up, since you started with dry rock and sand, the cycle might take a bit longer. It did for my tank. But rest assured it will cycle, no question. I turned my skimmer on, but kept it low so as to not necessarily pull anything but more to break it in. I kept adjusting it weekly by raising the bubble level and playing with the pump. Just my 2 cents. I trust McCrabs, but reality is you'll be changing the water, thus "exporting" more nutrients and the nutrients will be replenished the second you start feeding. I wouldn't worry about that at all. I can only say take your time. You didn't specify what kind of tank you are aiming for, reef, fowlr, mix...etc. All I can say is take your time, ask a lot of questions, take the replies with a grain of salt, and QT, QT, and QT...that's about the one thing I would definitely do. Good luck!

Thanks for that! Yes, it's taking its own sweet time to cycle, but we're being patient. The skimmer is low (and I think broken in, since the cup hasn't bubbled over for a week now and the bubbles stay in low in the neck). It's nice that this was trouble-free! We're going to do fowlr to start getting our feet wet (sic), but ultimately we'd like a reef tank once we have some experience. I'm waiting for those nitrites and ammonia to get below 1ppm (preferably lower) before dosing with Dr. Tim's ammonia again. It's been SLOW. Nothing like growing rocks in the dark to make for an exciting hobby.

 

[drino]

I always run the skimmer from the very beginning. You don’t ‘need’ to, but only good things come from running your skimmer and there are no drawbacks to having it going from the very beginning.

Thanks for this! I was glad I ran it over the past two weeks, as it's stopped acting like it is possessed by a demon and is showing some restraint now. I think it's broken in, bubbles are staying low in the neck instead of overflowing the cup. I dosed with bio-spira two days ago (turned skimmer before I dosed and it's been off since). But I understand that the bacteria isn't in the water column so water changes and skimming shouldn't impact them. I think I'll play it by ear, but turn it off for a couple of days when I 'feed' with Dr. Tim's ammonia. I'm so glad we get to 'play' around with getting things right before we have little lives depending on us.

 

[drino]

Sharing the info provided to me, you can look at page 7 of my build thread. This is my first sizable build and just finished my cycle. I asked the same question as the op.

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/hds-144-build-check-this-one-out.384638/page-7

I love your tank! It was so interesting reading what you went through as you cycled it. Patience sure is a virtue! Thanks for sharing this, and the feedback you got on the skimmer. I think it's broken in now, as it's 'behaving' itself and not demonically bubbling over anymore - but it was starting to pull 'stuff' out of the tank (a little bit of brown/green slimy stuff mainly in the neck of the cup). Since I think it's broken in now, I can probably keep it off most of the time (especially after dosing with Dr. Tim's ammonia). Appreciate you sharing your feedback!

 

[madweazl]

I run everything from day one on new tanks (lights, all pumps, heaters, etc.).

 

[brandon429]

skimmers pull out algae food, not bac food. they're getting fed no prob it'll cycle

 

[CC13]

skimmers pull out algae food, not bac food. they're getting fed no prob it'll cycle

This.