just started my cycle... few questions!

[themedic]

hello all! myself and my lovely girlfriend have just started the cycle in our 42 gallon tank. Ive done TONS of reading and research and have gotten some conflicting answers on a few things. So I figured Id seek the wisdom on this site and see if I can clear up some things.

2 days ago (5/4) I put in the live sand and rock and started with some micro bacter 7. Now should I:

1) be running my skimmer?
2) should I be running my lights cycling the night/morning/day, or day all the time? (I have the aquatic life T5 set up with the built in timer and LED/420-460k/700k+ bulbs).
3) should I still be doing 10% water changes once a week or will that prolong the cycle?
4) I have a 42 gallon cube tank and the LFS sold me 37lbs of live rock which they said would be fine. I read that youre supposed to have 1-2lbs per gallon which would make me at least 5 pounds under. is that a problem?

One more question is Ive done some reading on sumps. I have a canister filter right now which I was told would be fine for me, the beginner. thoughts? I have the cascade 1200.


Like I said these are the questions I have that are just getting conflicting answers from everyone I ask, so any input would be greatly appreciated!

 

[Jmck]

Umm, when i cycled my tank, I ran everything, just had daylight T5 globes but, so no nightlights and I had a skimmer and sump running. I did have my skimmer running and all powerheads along with my pump to cycle the water around.

The live rock being slightly under what is recommended is absolutely fine, its not necessary to have 1-2 pounds per gallon

Also water changes are not necessary just yet, do them after the water is cycled and when you start putting fish in.

You dont need a sump so the canister is fine but it is definitely better to have a sump. do you have a refugium on the tank?

hope that helps :)

 

[themedic]

no refugium. im not looking to go too crazy too fast and literally went by the word of my LFS guy.

 

[Jmck]

refugium is the best. but take that slow, you dont need one straight away :) it just lets you hold more fish

 

[Bifferwine]

You can run your skimmer during the cycle, but it probably won't pull much crap out since you don't have any animals producing waste.

I would run the lights for a little bit -- maybe an hour or two each day -- just to see what's going on. If you run them for a normal amount of time you'll just get algae outbreaks. You will get algae outbreaks eventually anyways, but if you can prolong having one, why not?

Canister filters can be effective, but they take a lot of work to keep clean, and if you don't keep them clean, they will often ruin your water quality. Since you have a skimmer, a canister filter isn't necessary. But the canister filter will come in handy to run carbon or phosphate media a few days a month to polish the water.

Don't do any water changes until your tank is done cycling. You are right that it will prolong it.

1 to 2 lbs of rock per gallon is ideal, but don't sweat it if your tank looks good with what it has. You can always add more down the road if you want to.

 

[themedic]

thanks biff!

 

[yote]

Biff is completely right.:D