skimmer question

[jbomar3771]

should i start skimming before the tank cycles or should i wait till its done?

 

[addicted2reefin]

i would wait.

 

[cobbobby]

You should hook the skimmer up when you put water in the tank and plum it. Skim from the getgo.

 

[eshark]

I leave the skimmer off during the cycle so you get a good bio-load for the bacteria population.

 

[transd]

you just need powerheads for cycling... once you've added livestock, then you can add the skimmer

 

[jbomar3771]

i thought you needed livestock in the tank for it to cycle

 

[KevinYates]

you need some bacteria, normally it comes from liverock die off.

you can add a skimmer but more than likly your not going to get none/ to hardly any skimmate because there will be really no bioload for it to skim..

it wont hurt having a skimmer, not sure if it takes more time to cycle or not, but really. whats an evtra half a week? umm lets see.. more time to save up for a very expensive hobby your about to get into.

MWAHAHAHA!~

 

[jbomar3771]

ok i have everything i need already, just waiting on my ro/di . wanting to make sure i do everything right as best as i can. what is the best way to get it to cycle? i was told to add a bunch of damsels. after new water is in when should i start running my lights? i have 2 250 mh. thanks

 

[Bandsaw]

If you want my opinion, don't cycle with live stock. It is unnecessarily cruel to the animal. Once your tank is set up, add some uncured live rock, a chunk of uncooked shrimp or even a pinch of flake food each day. If you don't have access to any uncured live rock, see if you can get some substrate from an established tank to jump start the process. Failing that, Mother Nature will take care of the problem. Just takes a little extra time. Just don't use live stock to cycle your tank.

 

[kb27973]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15533862#post15533862 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by jbomar3771
i was told to add a bunch of damsels.

That's the old school method. Do like Bandsaw said.

Ken