protein skimmer while cycling
- Thread starter JennyGutt
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Pfisherman
Active Member
Did you read my post miss? It is not uncommon to not have a cycle with a tank that uses live rock and sand. If you used dry rock that my friend is when you will for sure have a nasty time. You know, when I first started in fish it was not uncommon for the owner to pee in the tank to start the cycle lol. Just saying.
Oh my pee in it..yeesh. I did read it but some of it confused me. Thats not hard to do...lol...i went nack over what i bought. I got 20 lb live and 20 lb unlive i reckon amd they said the live would turn the other live.
Pfisherman
Active Member
Yeah my posts always sound good in my head, but I am all over the place. You will probably just get a mini cycle and get some diatoms and algae on your white rocks. Put the live rocks outside of your aquascape to help avoid that.
jujuman16
Community Member
I have set up several tanks in the last 12 years I've been in the hobby. I don't cycle tanks with the skimmer on, nor with live animals. For the last 4 tanks I did not use live rock, or live sand for that matter. I add nitrifying bacteria and ammonia, which guarantees my system has a lot of bacteria to start with and a measurable amount of ammonia from day 1. Before bacteria in a bottle I used live rock and a dead shrimp. The way you are doing it works as well, I assume you plan on keeping the damsels. My reasoning behind not running the skimmer is because you do not want to remove bacteria, you can always remove the gunk once you are done cycling. The marine biologists who sell the bacteria say not to run it for that same reason. If you are worried about the PH, you can run the skimmer with the exhaust all the way open, like that nothing beneficial will be removed and the aeration happens. Though plenty of tanks dont run skimmers at all and they do fine.
There are plenty of cycling methods, and lots of opinions as well. My only advice for anything is to research as much as you can, get all the facts, and go with the plan that makes more sense to you, but do it in advance. It will keep your critters healthy and save you money in the long run.
There are plenty of cycling methods, and lots of opinions as well. My only advice for anything is to research as much as you can, get all the facts, and go with the plan that makes more sense to you, but do it in advance. It will keep your critters healthy and save you money in the long run.
jujuman16
Community Member
Ohh and if you use the pee method, you have to do it directly into the tank. The longer it is in contact with the air, the less "cycling power" it has.
I'm sorry I couldn't resist... Please don't pee in the tank...
I'm sorry I couldn't resist... Please don't pee in the tank...
davidc
Community Member
More than likely you are fine. Feed sparingly and keep an eye on your parameters.
Keep your skimmer going and if
your parameters stay were they are at for a few days, you could start adding a clean-up crew.
Keep your skimmer going and if
your parameters stay were they are at for a few days, you could start adding a clean-up crew.
Pfisherman
Active Member
I dont like that rock on the right, it looks fine but maybe it is limestone that will Leach phosphate.
VanGrant44
New Member
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- Apr 12, 2020
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Hi there everyone. I’m new to R2R. Figured I’d share my experience in hoping to contribute to this thread and by no means am I an expert. I started my 180 gallon up and to kick off the fun I used ammonium drops. After blasting the tank with stable (bacteria) And having patience for a few weeks I’m pleased to say all my levels ended up perfect aside from a slightly high reading of nitrates I was tempted to use a skimmer through out this process but was advised it can disrupt the cycle removing the beneficial bacteria the tank needs prolonging the cycle. Not by a lot but maybe a few weeks. Many different opinions I received on the skimmer idea. Tank now is a week stable with rock and fish and just started my skimmer up today. I will however appreciate any advice on cutting my nitrates down safely . Thanks ahead of time !
