Hello everyone. I have a 65 gallon tank with 40 lb live rock 60 lb live sand 3 blue damsels. Just started it 10 days ago. Didnt turn the new skimmer on till probably 4 days ago but it didnt start producing any brown skim till yesterday. Two days ago my ammonia had just started showing up. I thought great my cycle is starting. But i checked it again this morning amd its back down to zero. It had turned green some now its yellow. It seems to have went back down and stopped when the skimmer kicked in working. Should i leave the skimmer off to cycle so itll get started back or leave it on? It seems to me itll slow the cycle but if it necessary thats fine too. But if itll speed it up without harm then ill turn it off. Any advice will be so appreciated!
protein skimmer while cycling
- Thread starter JennyGutt
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Martin H. Lawton
Active Member
I turned on my skimmer at the start which I believe gave me a more balance cycle. I would say give it a couple of weeks and see what happens your tank needs to get use to the skimmer
Martin H. Lawton
Active Member
or skimmer to get use to the tank..
TheEngineer
Formerly icecool2
Welcome to the forum. Personally I believe you should not use a skimmer during a cycle. You are pulling out the very stuff you need to create the bacterial population.
That said, please take the fish back where you bought them. Fish cycles are unnecessarily stressful on the fish and provide no benefit to your tank or the cycling process that you couldn't obtain with a frozen shrimp. Let the tank cycle naturally and then get the fish again if you want.
That said, please take the fish back where you bought them. Fish cycles are unnecessarily stressful on the fish and provide no benefit to your tank or the cycling process that you couldn't obtain with a frozen shrimp. Let the tank cycle naturally and then get the fish again if you want.
FlyinBryan
Well-Known Member
+1 do not turn on your skimmer! That biologic process really needs to happen. I just cured some for 50+ days to add to an existing tank.
And +10 on getting those fish out of there.
Please do a lot more research before you even consider continuing on! For the sake of the fish, corals, and hobby as a whole!
Rule of thumb. If you can measure ammonia, you have too much.
And +10 on getting those fish out of there.
Please do a lot more research before you even consider continuing on! For the sake of the fish, corals, and hobby as a whole!
Rule of thumb. If you can measure ammonia, you have too much.
Jenny
How much of your system lines up with group b rocks from this thread
https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/n...d-cocktail-shrimp-live-rock-no-shrimp.214618/
sometimes lfs label rocks live if they haven't been underwater very long, and then sometimes the rocks really are live and we discuss indicators. Which kind do you have
How much of your system lines up with group b rocks from this thread
https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/n...d-cocktail-shrimp-live-rock-no-shrimp.214618/
sometimes lfs label rocks live if they haven't been underwater very long, and then sometimes the rocks really are live and we discuss indicators. Which kind do you have
Pfisherman
Active Member
Fish in cycling vs. Fishless cycling is an endless debate personal opinion is that fish in cycling provides the natural bacteria that can only happen that way, it is especially okay if you are in fact using live rock instead of dry and live sand instead of dry. You may not even see a real cycle happen if you have the right stuff.
Are you are familiar with the podcast reefthreads? I wrote an email to Gary Parr a couple years ago asking about running the skimmer during a cycle and he and Christine answered that you should definitely be using it from day one. Not only will itpull out the crud but it will also buffer ph and keep your o2 levels up.
Are you are familiar with the podcast reefthreads? I wrote an email to Gary Parr a couple years ago asking about running the skimmer during a cycle and he and Christine answered that you should definitely be using it from day one. Not only will itpull out the crud but it will also buffer ph and keep your o2 levels up.
And +10 on getting those fish out of the
Rule of thumb. If you can measure ammonia, you have too much
Reply:
I thought the point was to raise ammonia to get the bacteria's to grow)
Reply::I think all the research ive done is why im so confused. Everyone has different ways. Some more extreme and its very confusing...lol..i researched over a year and get so many conflicting opinions so i finally decided to go at it and do best i can and ask if i nees help. Indont think that means i should take everything back just cause im new and learning
Rule of thumb. If you can measure ammonia, you have too much
Reply:
I thought the point was to raise ammonia to get the bacteria's to grow)Reply::I think all the research ive done is why im so confused. Everyone has different ways. Some more extreme and its very confusing...lol..i researched over a year and get so many conflicting opinions so i finally decided to go at it and do best i can and ask if i nees help. Indont think that means i should take everything back just cause im new and learning
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I think that what FlyinBryan meant by "If you can measure ammonia, you have too much." is that you have too much ammonia _for_fish_. The stuff is toxic to them, and there are other ways to get the job done (such as using a supermarket shrimp, perhaps with one of the bacteria-in-a-bottle formulations), which won't torment marine life.
~Bruce, who ran his skimmer through the cycle
~Bruce, who ran his skimmer through the cycle
If someone feels material in the link above should be changed to better address cycling post up the idea. If it turns out something can be honed better, I'll edit and give you cred for the reco
the question at heart:
When can you start a reef tank in terms of a guaranteed biosystem that turns tank waste into non harmful compounds?
That has no bearing on the prudence of adding any animal too soon. I find many cycling threads are a mix of bacterial discussions and discussions involving practice time needed to keep basic things consistent like temp or salinity. The thread is intended to address the microbiological aspect in full, fun to critique we only want the good stuff that filters through.
the question at heart:
When can you start a reef tank in terms of a guaranteed biosystem that turns tank waste into non harmful compounds?
That has no bearing on the prudence of adding any animal too soon. I find many cycling threads are a mix of bacterial discussions and discussions involving practice time needed to keep basic things consistent like temp or salinity. The thread is intended to address the microbiological aspect in full, fun to critique we only want the good stuff that filters through.
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Can you post pics of your tank Jenny
Does the web show any situations where API test kits read ammonia in perfectly cycled tanks when there was none? How about adulterants, what did webbers discover regarding the common additive 'prime' and API nitrite kits? Did API tell people this detail when producing the kits for profit/sale?
the web shows people doing amazing and diverse things to their tanks with the habit of taking API ammonia and nitrite at face value so IMO we need a better way to assess tank ability.
API holds an interesting place in my link above (the greatest cause of cycling misinformation in reefing) <------ that's not a very nice thing to say about a test kit in every reefers test drawer.
Where API ammonia can be trusted and helpful: you are missing a large fish in a small tank and the test is purple
Does the web show any situations where API test kits read ammonia in perfectly cycled tanks when there was none? How about adulterants, what did webbers discover regarding the common additive 'prime' and API nitrite kits? Did API tell people this detail when producing the kits for profit/sale?
the web shows people doing amazing and diverse things to their tanks with the habit of taking API ammonia and nitrite at face value so IMO we need a better way to assess tank ability.
API holds an interesting place in my link above (the greatest cause of cycling misinformation in reefing) <------ that's not a very nice thing to say about a test kit in every reefers test drawer.
Where API ammonia can be trusted and helpful: you are missing a large fish in a small tank and the test is purple
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davidc
Community Member
.....she had an ammonia reading...now it's zero....no need to pull the fish as they have already been through it. Obviously the rock and/or sand has some age and it has enough cure. Leave your skimmer on,feed very sparingly for a while and take it slow. Heck, its Christmas Day, where do you think she is going to take the fish to?
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Pfisherman
Active Member
I would leave them anyway.
Jenny want to know something funny
believe you about the live rock being live.
Recently on threads who mention any cycle variations using live rock without pics I chime in with nine pages ramp up, and when they post pics it's bone white rocks and the ship goes down lol. (But the LFS said they were live!)
It is very hard to withhold microbiology diatribe until the proofs are delivered but I got burnt a few times and learned to ask for the gold first (gold being any benthic establishment which is the full basis of the link above)
believe you about the live rock being live.
Recently on threads who mention any cycle variations using live rock without pics I chime in with nine pages ramp up, and when they post pics it's bone white rocks and the ship goes down lol. (But the LFS said they were live!)
It is very hard to withhold microbiology diatribe until the proofs are delivered but I got burnt a few times and learned to ask for the gold first (gold being any benthic establishment which is the full basis of the link above)
