Cycling question

[johnny4491]

My 20 gallon is currently cycling all i have going is my powerhead and heater so my question is can I plug in my protein skimmer or will that effect my cycling

 

[Grelby]

My 20 gallon is currently cycling all i have going is my powerhead and heater so my question is can I plug in my protein skimmer or will that effect my cycling

How are you cycling?

 

[johnny4491]

How are you cycling?

What do you mean ?

 

[Grelby]

What do you mean ?

Are you using livestock to cycle it or did you put a dead shrimp in or did you pour ammonia into your tank?

 

[johnny4491]

Are you using livestock to cycle it or did you put a dead shrimp in or did you pour ammonia into your tank?

I put live sand and I’m using dry rock

 

[Grelby]

I put live sand and I’m using dry rock

I don’t think there is any reason to run the skimmer, you might want to look into different methods of cycling and kick off the nitrogen cycle.

 

[johnny4491]

I don’t think there is any reason to run the skimmer, you might want to look into different methods of cycling and kick off the nitrogen cycle.

I’m not in a big rush or anything lol but what do you suggest

 

[Grelby]

I’m not in a big rush or anything lol but what do you suggest

I know fritz makes some stuff that will cycle your tank in a few days. But you need to introduce ammonia into your system in order for it to start cycling.

 

[Grelby]

I know fritz makes some stuff that will cycle your tank in a few days. But you need to introduce ammonia into your system in order for it to start cycling.

I would also look at getting a nice piece live rock.

 

[johnny4491]

I would also look at getting a nice piece live rock.

That’s why the live sand is there for no?

 

[LadyMac]

Right now your sand is live. However you have nothing to feed it. You will need an ammonia source. Are you testing the ammonia nitrite and nitrate? If so what are they reading. If you don’t feed the bacteria some ammonia it will die off.

I placed a raw cocktail shrimp in a piece of panty hose and hung it on the tank in front of the powerhead.

As for the skimmer, sure you can hook it up. But here’s nothing in there to skim. A skimmer will take up the nasties in the water if you have no fish and your rock is just base and no ammonia source there’s nothing to skim.

 

[Grelby]

That’s why the live sand is there for no?

Yea it helps. But if you don’t mind waiting then I wouldn’t worry about it.

 

[johnny4491]

Right now your sand is live. However you have nothing to feed it. You will need an ammonia source. Are you testing the ammonia nitrite and nitrate? If so what are they reading. If you don’t feed the bacteria some ammonia it will die off.

I placed a raw cocktail shrimp in a piece of panty hose and hung it on the tank in front of the powerhead.

As for the skimmer, sure you can hook it up. But here’s nothing in there to skim. A skimmer will take up the nasties in the water if you have no fish and your rock is just base and no ammonia source there’s nothing to skim.

Haven’t started testing because it’s only the second day and I’ve heard about the shrimp but I also heard it can stink up the room lol but I think I’m going to to feed the tank fish food

 

[User1]

You can also do a search here and use pure ammonia - dose enough to get to 2 ppm and that is what helps start the cycle. The cycle needs food and ammonia is it. Or, like others said above, the shrimp which decays also does the same thing. This is called the fishless cycle. To your question though you don't need to run the skimmer nor lighting. Nothing there will need it let alone make use of it. It isn't until the cycle is on the down low / end before that is required. Then starts the diatom bloom, algae, etc. All in all a pretty cool cycle to watch and explore.

I'm on day 10 of my cycle using dry rock, ammonia, and a bottle of bacteria and just now the ammonia dropped to 0.4 from 2.0. Nitrites went up, nitrates higher. So I'm just about done. No lights, no skimmer, nothing but tank water, sump, heater, and return pump + gyre.

 

[inktomi]

I would look into the Dr. Tim's bacteria, or a similar product. I started with dry MarcoRock for my tank, and honestly I think that I lacked a lot of the bacterial diversity that "real" live rock would have given me. Even just a little piece of live rock might do your tank a world of good.

You won't need a skimmer until you start feeding things in your tank, or you start getting coral. Right now you want the nutrients in your tank so that the bacteria has something to eat!

 

[johnny4491]

I would look into the Dr. Tim's bacteria, or a similar product. I started with dry MarcoRock for my tank, and honestly I think that I lacked a lot of the bacterial diversity that "real" live rock would have given me. Even just a little piece of live rock might do your tank a world of good.

You won't need a skimmer until you start feeding things in your tank, or you start getting coral. Right now you want the nutrients in your tank so that the bacteria has something to eat!

Well I do have live rock from my other tank but I’m scared it might pass on some stuff to my new tank

 

[inktomi]

I had the exact same choice between using some live rock or not. In hindsight, I wish I had just broken off a little piece, scrubbed it clean in some fresh water, and then put it into my new tank. I just feel like I've had a lot more random algae issues with my new tank vs my old one.

Of course, my old one had dynos.

 

[Idoc]

Very easy to dose up to 2ppm ammonia with pure ammonia... just make sure there are no surfactants in it. ACE hardware sells pure janitorial grade ammonia that works well. Shake the bottle, if you get bubbles, don't use it. Watch your testing numbers starting a few days after dosing...once that ammonia goes to zero, dose it to 1-2ppm again. After a few weeks, you will be able to see your system processing the ammonia faster and faster within 24hrs. Once it can convert the 2ppm to zero in 24 hours, then your system should be cycled and should be able to start handling a small bioload...ie, 1-2 fish max for the first month or two. I just followed this procedure without any bottled bacteria and everything went smoothly... especially if you have patience.

Also...no real need to run your skimmer yet, unless you just want to break it in... maybe start at the end of your cycle.

Also... definitely don't run any lights during the cycle. You will be overrun with algae before you can add any CUC tho help control it.

At around the 3-4 Week mark, you will want to then start thinking about getting an early CUC...nerite and cerith snails are good at that point.

 

[johnny4491]

Thanks guys

 

[johnny4491]

I had the exact same choice between using some live rock or not. In hindsight, I wish I had just broken off a little piece, scrubbed it clean in some fresh water, and then put it into my new tank. I just feel like I've had a lot more random algae issues with my new tank vs my old one.

Of course, my old one had dynos.

Does it have to be a certain size lol like the rock