cycling question

[gopens]

ok ok, i think this should be the last post for a few days. it seems i have everything up and cycling now. a couple questions and i will give you guys and gals the rest of the week from reading my threads. so again, my tank is at 78 degress and my salt is .024-.025. i do have cured LR and live sand. what are my next steps. i know i am going to keep checking the water. but from an earlier post, i was told to not leave my lights on during this process (cycling), because not critters to eat the algea. so do i never turn it on, even the sump light, until i put snails and what not in there. i ordered some t5s, so my lighting should be good. so now do i just relaz and make sure my levels are right. now class once you answer this question, you can go home for the weekend (yahoo)

[mister crabs]

light is really just for asthetics during the cycling process unless you got some sort of fuge where a macroalgae would need light. you may or may not get a diatom or algae bloom since your LR and LS is from an established tank im guessing. But lights off may help keep algae from growing too much. Just remember that algae is one of the simplest plant lifeforms in terms of care requirements so even ambient room light may give it enough to grow. plus if you are using ro-di water and your params stay stable you shouldnt see much algae.

[gopens]

light is really just for asthetics during the cycling process unless you got some sort of fuge where a macroalgae would need light. you may or may not get a diatom or algae bloom since your LR and LS is from an established tank im guessing. But lights off may help keep algae from growing too much. Just remember that algae is one of the simplest plant lifeforms in terms of care requirements so even ambient room light may give it enough to grow. plus if you are using ro-di water and your params stay stable you shouldnt see much algae.

 

so i should keep a light on the fuge even thoughy i only have live sand in it?

[mister crabs]

nah....if theres no macroalgae in it yet (good algae) then dont bother.

[gopens]

ok, so i have heard that this process is going to take about 6 weeks. is there anything other than levels need to keep an eye on

[SnowboardKid26]

If your rock is fully cured, the process is going to take substantially less time as your rock is already full of bacteria. It just needs to get adjusted to your tank.

[CCR]

Skimmer, all setup? skimming wet???

[gopens]

skimmer is running. but i am not sure if its running wet or dry. how can i tell what i am running. also how can i change it...

[impur]

If the collection cup is full of water and its more green looking, thats wet skimming. Dry skimming would be dark brown and really really smelly. You can adjust the skimmer by raising or lowering the water level in it.

 

But you may not have enough of a bioload to really effect the skimmer at this point.

[mister crabs]

from what i understand wet skimming is more effective at keeping the nasties out of your water but requires more maintenance than dry correct?

[fly guy]

from what i understand wet skimming is more effective at keeping the nasties out of your water but requires more maintenance than dry correct?

 

If you are going to skim wet you just need to account for the saltwater you are removing more as if you just top off as usual or let an auto top off device keep adding fresh your salinity will drop. As well If you skim very wet you really need to drill your collection cup and have it go into a much bigger container. I do the majority of my water changes by simply skimming wet.

[mister crabs]

i never thought of that .......with only a 40 gal display do you think i could swing that? less jugs for me to carry around .lol

[CCR]

from what i understand wet skimming is more effective at keeping the nasties out of your water but requires more maintenance than dry correct?

 

Corrrect......It's not really a lot more IMO work. Yes you do need to keep an eye on it more. I put an outpipe on the side of my skimmer to a one gallon milk jug, that i keep IN the skimmer, so If it does over flow.I don't have a mess. It truly has made a huge difference in keeping the levels down. I remove a gallon about every 3 days, on a 160 gal tank. Unless i stur somethin up, or use cyclopeze. then it goes nuts, but that's the idea.. The biggest mistake made with a skimmer, is to let the neck get cruddy, the bubbles cannot break properly and PUSH UP, if the sides are coated in cr*^^P. I used to skim dry, never again. The best way to set it up, for wet, is when every thing is calm, set the bubble break just below the top of the neck, within an inch. That way, if anything does happen, it's going to grab it fast. Now your gona want to check salinity more often.