cycling question

[hrc51ed]

When Cycling A New Tank Using Live Sand And Uncured Rocks, Do I Run The Protein Skimmer Along With The Filters And Powerheads? And How Much Shorter Is Cycling When Use Lr And Ls?

[Gforce3s]

Yep run everything, skimmer filters and powerheads. My cycle took 3 weeks to complete with lr and ls, but wait longer than that to add any livestock, more like 6 to 8 weeks to add anything.

[Wiskey]

I would wait until after the rock is cured to add the sand, just due to the massive amount of junk that comes off it during the curing process.

Other than that I agree with above.

Whiskey

[Geoff]

i would run the tank during the cycling process the same way you plan when there are critters in the tank. i would not do a water change until a week before you decide to add any critter to the tank. i would also not worry about the tank for at least 2 months. set the tank up and let it run for 2 months. after two months the tank would have cycled and you would have weathered a fair amount of the new tank uglies.

G~

[ginger]

I dont understand. After you cycle your tank you change water? Doesnt that defeat purpose of cycling tank. What are you cycling if you end up changing water. Doesnt that mean you just need to start over?

[Geoff]

cycling the tank just means you are trying to get all of the bacteria cranking. you are also waiting for all of those critters that will not live in an aquarium to die off and rot away.

if you keep doing water changes you keep diluting the food the bacteria need to grow and reproduce. the bacteria need the ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate. if you keep removing these than the total bacteria will not be a great.

G~