When do you start the skimmer?

[stando76]

I am currently in the midst of cycling my tank. (About 4 weeks in) When should I start the protein skimmer?
Thanks
Stan

 

[stando76]

Cool. Thanks for the reply.
Stan

 

[imb]

dEPENDS ON THE QUALITY OF LIVE ROCK - IF YOUR ROCK IS FULL OF LIFE THAN USE SKIMMER ( TBS rock recommends use of skimmer during cycling)

 

[jedininja]

I say start skimming once you start adding fish. The only time the LR matters is if you have a lot of die off from the rock.

 

[stando76]

In my case, I am fish only ..... no LR. I do however have 5 damsals to cycle the tank. (I know that is frowned upon.... but too bad its my tank) My local FS (whom i do not listen too anymore) said that I should never put LR or LS in my tank. Once I cycle and get the whole hobby under control I may move to a bigger tank, and then add some LR.
Thanks for the help.

 

[jlem]

Skimming improves water quality dramatically. If you start skimming from day one you very well may slow down your cycle but not by a whole lot and you will experience less problems in the long run that decreased water quality may cause( PH swings, Algae blooms, increased water changes to clean up your water quality )

 

[jlem]

Originally posted by stando76
(I know that is frowned upon.... but too bad its my tank)
That attidude is bound to encourage peoples help

 

[schneidts]

Is it a new skimmer? If it's new, I would start it the day your cycle ended. This would give the skimmer time to brake in.

 

[stando76]

Yes its new. Thank You for the response.
That attidude is bound to encourage peoples help
The reason I say this is because I know many people do not like to cycle their tanks with fish..... not sure why, maybe they do want to see them suffer. Anyway I was not asking a question about my cycle, and I did not want to get the 20 replies of "Why are you cycling your tank with fish?" I know I am bending the rules, but I just needed some clarification in regards to the skimmer.
THanks Again.

 

[jlem]

Originally posted by stando76
I know I am bending the rules,
THanks Again.
The rules are more of opinions. I personally like to do a slow cycle with one or two fish. It does not spike levels very high and it gives me something to look at other than an empty tank.

 

[neowind]

Just my opinion but if you already have a skimmer start using it when you get fish in there. If you haven't bought one yet I would say get one after about 4 months.

 

[jedininja]

Since you are cycling with fush, then just start skimming when your cycle is over. Cycling with fish is already slow as it is. You dont want to slow it down even more with a skimmer.