New tank setup questions

[mattman91]

Hey everybody,
I started a thread in the reef section earlier without realizing this section was here for new hobbyists. Forgive me. But I have some questions. I inherited a 70G aquarium from a friend of mine. He gave me the tank, stand, canopy, sump and protein skimmer. Because the protein skimmer was given to me, there are no manufacturer instructions to go with it. But I've had the tank set up for about 2 weeks now, and I added about 70 lbs of live rock about one week ago. The skimmer isn't making foam, which i've read is normal because I have no bio load on the tank yet, but the collection cup fills up with water on every setting I have tried. (closed all the way up to fully open) is this normal? Am I doing something wrong? Also, my cycle has not even started yet, as my test kit reads that the ammonia is still high, and the live rock has been in there for a week. I read that with live rock it was supposed to happen relatively quickly, am I wrong?

 

[snakeblitz33]

No bubbles in the throat of the skimmer leads me to believe that you either have no airline on your skimmer pump intake or the airline on it it clogged. Unclog it and see if it works then. Turn it down on the lowest setting possible at first and get some air flowing through the powerhead.

 

[snakeblitz33]

Oh, and the initial cycle can take anywhere from seven days to 30 days. Even lo get if you prolong it yourself. Best thing to do is just let it sit and be patient. Now is a time to research and learn as much as you can.

 

[mattman91]

There are bubbles in the throat. But they don't make it up to the collection cup, just water does.

 

[mattman91]

And thanks for the cycling advice. The reading I did said that it was somewhat faster with live rock. But I guess I'll just have to be patient! Thanks!

 

[snakeblitz33]

What brand??? Anything on it at all? The throat is the little collar that is on the inside of the collection cup. The body of the skimmer is what you are talking about. Pics would be very helpful.

 

[mattman91]

The skimmer is a Bubble Magus NAC 3.5. I will post pics in the morning. Thanks for all the help.

 

[xandrew245x]

Your cycle has already began that is why your ammonia is high! I hope you are using ro, ro/di, or distilled water in your tank. Your cycle can take a month or more, it all depends, i'm nearing the one month mark here, and my ammonia level is just finally dropping. I don't know very much about skimmers, mine came with the set up too, and I have no clue what it is or how it works, there is no markings on it at all, so I think i'm going to invest in a new one at some time.