Little help please....

[renato120]

I'm done building my tank, and started the cycling today.
- Do I need to leave the lights on for the cycling?
I have sand and one rock there for now.
- Should I turn on the skimmer?
- I have two reactors, One for GFO, and the other for carbon.
Should I wait for the cycling to be done, or turn them on now?
Sorry for all the questions.... I just want to make sure before I do any mistake.

I didn't do any test yet.

My salinity is at 1.023
temperature 79

 

[W1ngz]

Leave the lights on or off is up to you. On it may just grow algae with nothing in there to clean it up. There's nothing to see anyway.

If the skimmer is on, it will be nicely broken in and you'll have time to figure out how touchy the Eshopps is to set. (I have one)

Don't bother with carbon reactor, there's nothing in the water to remove. Test for phosphates after a couple of weeks, that might come from the rock/sand, maybe you can get ahead of them with the GFO before you start stocking.

Ideally you should get more or most of your rock in there now, that's actually what you want to cycle.

 

[ecniVince]

Congrats!

Q: Do I need to leave the lights on for the cycling?
A: I agree with w1ingz on this, nothing to see for a couple weeks. Totally up to you. When you start to get towards the end of your cycle, I'd suggest turning them on. Personally, I like to supply the algae with a little light to grow so my intro-clean-up crew has plenty to eat and plenty to do.

Q: I have sand and one rock there for now.
A: Again, What w1ngz said. Get all of your Live rock in there now. Especially if the rock you plan on using is not cured live rock.

Q: Should I turn on the skimmer?
A: Yes


Q: I have two reactors, One for GFO, and the other for carbon. Should I wait for the cycling to be done, or turn them on now?
A: Carbon, No need. The GFO? I would wait a week and then start running it. As w1ngz said, get ahead of the phosphates. They will appear and get ahead of them.

I keep my salinity in my reef tanks @ 1.025 - 1.026. If it were me, I would get your salinity up. Opinions on this most certainly will vary. If it were a "fish only" tank, then I wouldn't mind a SG of 1.023.

Hope this helps,

Vince

 

[Clownfish Chris]

As for the skimmer, I always thought that it should be left off during the cycle. It removes the organic compounds that help to complete the cycle. Once the cycle is complete and live fish are added, that is when the skimmer should be brought on line. Maybe I am wrong though?

 

[ecniVince]

I was agreeing to Chris about breaking the skimmer in.. Yes. It will prolong the cycle, and potentially produce a smaller biological filter when the cycle is done. You would be better off not running the skimmer while cycling.

 

[renato120]

Leave the lights on or off is up to you. On it may just grow algae with nothing in there to clean it up. There's nothing to see anyway.

If the skimmer is on, it will be nicely broken in and you'll have time to figure out how touchy the Eshopps is to set. (I have one)

Don't bother with carbon reactor, there's nothing in the water to remove. Test for phosphates after a couple of weeks, that might come from the rock/sand, maybe you can get ahead of them with the GFO before you start stocking.

Ideally you should get more or most of your rock in there now, that's actually what you want to cycle.

Congrats!
T

Q: Do I need to leave the lights on for the cycling?
A: I agree with w1ingz on this, nothing to see for a couple weeks. Totally up to you. When you start to get towards the end of your cycle, I'd suggest turning them on. Personally, I like to supply the algae with a little light to grow so my intro-clean-up crew has plenty to eat and plenty to do.

Q: I have sand and one rock there for now.
A: Again, What w1ngz said. Get all of your Live rock in there now. Especially if the rock you plan on using is not cured live rock.

Q: Should I turn on the skimmer?
A: Yes


Q: I have two reactors, One for GFO, and the other for carbon. Should I wait for the cycling to be done, or turn them on now?
A: Carbon, No need. The GFO? I would wait a week and then start running it. As w1ngz said, get ahead of the phosphates. They will appear and get ahead of them.

I keep my salinity in my reef tanks @ 1.025 - 1.026. If it were me, I would get your salinity up. Opinions on this most certainly will vary. If it were a "fish only" tank, then I wouldn't mind a SG of 1.023.

Hope this helps,

Vince

Thank you so much guys!

 

[shesacharmer]

I would leave off the lights and the skimmer, don't run carbon and put in the rest of the rocks because what you are cycling is the rocks and sand, not the water.

 

[MBK]

I would also leave the skimmer and lights off. You want the bacteria on your live rock to remove the waste from your tank. In order to establish them, they need something to eat. Also the lights will just grow algae. I was told one time (???) that coraline algae would spread and establish better under low light if there is any of that on your live rock now.

 

[JMorris271]

Skimmer on will prolong the cycle. It's much quicker to cycle with the skimmer off.

 

[danil]

I would say keep everything OFF except circulation and a heater. Even heater you can set lower a bit to save on energy. Check for nitrates and when detected - make WC and start checking phosphates. If they are super high (most likely) run some phosphate removing media (GFO, aluminum or lanthanum based) to get it down to below 0.1. At this time your tank is ready for CC and you can now turn on the light.
Get few small peices of live rock with nice purple coralline algae and scratch it daily in front of your power head to activate it growth. It should grow fast to help fight other 'bad' algae you will have in your tank.
GL!

 

[Wryknow]

I'm done building my tank, and started the cycling today.
- Do I need to leave the lights on for the cycling?
I have sand and one rock there for now.
- Should I turn on the skimmer?
- I have two reactors, One for GFO, and the other for carbon.
Should I wait for the cycling to be done, or turn them on now?
Sorry for all the questions.... I just want to make sure before I do any mistake.

I hit it with everything I have right off the bat. Reactors and skimmers are on from day 1. Rock and sand are in the tank on day 1. The sump lights are also on from day 1 to grow macro algae (if you have it otherwise I'd leave it off.) The DT lights I wait on and start running them a week or so before I plan to add my clean up crew. Clean up crew goes in at about 4 weeks and then I'll start stocking 2-4 weeks after that.

 

[renato120]

Thank you guys!