help with cycle

[ralff]

hi,

I am setting up a 100g tank. at first it will be fowlr, but later when it matures a bit add coral.

i know my questions may seem really dumb, but please bear with me as i do not want to assume that i know it all and make any mistakes.

the tank has sand and been filled with ro water. i am ready to add salt and bring the water up to temp.

1. do i need to run the skimmer during the initial cycle phase? i was going to add to live sand and maybe a piece of shrimp to get the cycling started. is this a good idea?

2. do i need to run the lighting during this stage. i have mh and some weak 6500k pc that i was going to use for the fuge. should i run the mh or the pc? and for how long? (250w se xm10k)

thank you for your help. please feel free to make any other suggestions also. i wish to have a beautiful tank and am willing to what it takes.

ralff

 

[WaterKeeper]

Hi Ralff
[welcome]

To both questions, it can't hurt but for the full story see The New Tank Thread

 

[sruiz]

WaterKeeper is the best!

WaterKeeper is the best!

WaterKeeper is the man. Read all his threads and absorb it like a sponge, the guys is a genius.

 

[ralff]

so,

during the "live sand" stage, I don't neeed any lighting, right?

 

[jpitch]

no, you don't "need" lighting. as a matter of fact, you would keep the algae bloom down if you didn't use a lot of lighting. i guess you don't plan to add any inverts or fish during your cycle? a protein skimmer will be a necessity(among 95% of those reading these forums) so it would be good to start it up now.