When Do I Start Skimming?

kleinn

kleinn

Member
My skimmer finally arrived today! It's a Red Sea Prizm HO. I'm starting a 20H reef with 20lbs LS and 27lbs LR, and I'm about 9 days into the cycle. I was away from the tank for a few days and I think I may have missed the ammonia spike because my nitrates have been pretty high for the past couple days (+40 ppm) and the algae is growing like crazy. So, should I start skimming now, or wait another week or so? :notsure:
 
kleinn

kleinn

Member
I thought skimming and water changes during the cycle slow the process down and don't do any good since the whole point is to feed the nitrifying bacteria until they get well enough established to support additional bio-load?
 
dogstar

dogstar

Active Member
IMO, the cycle will happen. If speed is what you want then fine, but you should try and keep the levels as low as possible as it cycles to prevent killing other hitchiking critters. Run lights too for the same reasons.
 
kleinn

kleinn

Member
So skimming now will slow the process down, but will keep the cycle levels lower? I've already seen a lower number of 'pods and worms in the tank...but the sooner I cycle the sooner I can get some cool stuff! (half-joking) I want to do everything right, and a quality tank is way worth the wait, but I also don't want to delay the progress of the cycle...
 
dogstar

dogstar

Active Member
People differ on everything. IMO your rock has enough dead stuff from shipping and that will start the bactiria growing on the surfaces and start the cycle, If the toxins are allowed to reach high levels, ppm, in the water then this will cause other good stuff like hitchicker, worms, pods, crabs, all/more kinds of good critters to die from the high levels and this will cause the cycle to take longer because there will just be more stuff dieing. Running the skimmer and doing water changes during the cycle helps to keep things from dieing as well as running lights too. So things that need light can survive also. None of this will stop the bacteria from growing in the tank and rock. JMO
 
kleinn

kleinn

Member
Gotcha. Thanks Dogster. I think I'll let the tank stew in its own filth for tonight, and start the skimmer up tomorrow. I'm also a little confused about where the tank is in the cycle because I think my dry-tabs have been bad for the last couple years, but they were all I had until yesterday. If I go by those tests my nitrates are already falling, as is my ammonia, but still no 'trites. I tested with the a new Mydor kit and got similar readings (I know they're not that great, but the Mydor kit was a downpayment from a FW plant display set-up job at my LFS). But in any case <sigh> no matter what <sigh> it doesn't hurt to just chill out and wait longer on the cylce, right?
(What?! I'm pumped for some coral action in this bad boy!!!!
)
 
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