To Skim or Not to Skim?

I agree also dont wait.
Which LFS do you use? Fish 2000?

 

If you are looking for 100% correct answers you will never find them as people will always have a different opinion.
but ask 10 people and if 9 say do and 1 says not to I would go with the percentages and do it.
Your tank is trial and error we all just hope to do small trials & errors to learn as we go.

 

Yes, how'd you know? Heard anything good or bad about them?

 

Well I'm skimming despite the recommendations by my LFS not to skim. It seems that there are benefits in skimming during the cycling process which promote the growth of microorganisms on the LR.

 

That and oxygenating the water.Fish 2000 is the only one I know in Irvine

 

I would not skimm for at least 3-4 weeks.  To cycle a tank you have to go through the nitrogen cycle, first ammonia then nitrite and finally nitrates,  Skimmers remove organic matter which is converted to nitrate via the nitrrogen cycle. That is why in some sumps you see skimmers first skim the water before the water goes thru the bio balls, live rock or whatever media you are using.  This cuts down on the amount of nitrate that is produced because the skimmer is removing some of the waste products before it can undergo the denitrification process.  If you skim during the first part of cycling a tank you will delay the cycling process because you will be removing the fuel for the denitifying bacteria.  If you feel you must skim the tank then skim every other day.  This is just my take on the matter after reviewing articles and forums on wetwebmedia.com where you can get expert info and advice.  You can even ask questions via email.. Hope this helps.

 

Thanks for your opinion Black_Raven. Your view contradicts w/most of the guys here, but it does agree w/ several people from my LFS. I'm glad you felt confident enough to view your differing opinion. I can imagine that it be tough to be the dissenting view.

I'm going to continue my research and make changes and adjustments as necessary.

Thanks...

 

Thanks for your reply. My LFS also agrees with me, I really recommend checking out wetwebmedia.com, Its a web site where you can ask experts and marine biologists questions about anything dealing with salt or fresh water fish or equipment. They respond within 24-48 hours and are extremly knowledgable and helpful. Just be very specific and detailed in your questions. Let me know what they say if you decicide to ask them. Hope this helps. By the way what ever you decide to do with the skimming it will work out either way.

 

You will still have the cycle ammonia , nirites, nitrates even if you do skim from day one..
get a cleaning crew to fix the rest.

 

@GaMmA,

Welcome to the conumdrum of Reef Keeping facts, opinion and myth. One of the biggest problems we all face, esp. when just starting out, is that just about everywhere there are contradictory opinions on just about every aspect of the "Art"...

Just like "Religion" - many different angles of looking at same thing, with wide variety of differing experiences.

"Filtering" out what you really want to know from the mountains of info available on the web and books, and hoping for the best best possible advice is something we all struggle with no matter how many years (or how "few&quot doing this hobby. What we are doing is in a very dynamic and changing environment and easy to find even the same sources saying different things over time.

Here is how I deal with the problem of "Reef Information Overload" and differing opinions (and offer up as only as one possible solution).

First find a spot that is not "overly crowded" - "comfortable" - and populated with some very "experienced" and "helpful" "reefers" - ("3Reef" is ideal IMHO ) - places like wetwebmedia.com (mentioned earlier) are chock full of info, but often takes lots of reading to find what you are looking for.

Next, (like a "Religion&quot find a "Bible" that you feel comfortable with and know that you can generally trust the information it contains. (Anthony Calfo & Robert Fenner - also of wetwebmedia.com - are my "Moses's&quot when it comes to latest info...their books are great failsafes, easy to read and little they don't know.

on "skimming during cycle" - here is what they have to say ... (page 25, "Reef Invertebrates," A. Calfo, R. Fenner)


"...Massive aeration and water flow is the single best thing you can do to insure a better curing process. Agressive protein skimming is the next best thing. Large or sour batches of live rock will benefit immeasurable from large, effieient, or even dual skimmers cleaned alternately so as not to interrupt he skimmate produciton. There really is no such thing as "over-skimming" when it comes to curing live rock..."

"...With the enormous influx of decaying matter, exudations from stressed animals, and the spike in dissolved organics at large, a protein skimmer is an absolutely indispensable component for curing live rock, and strong water flow supports it by keeping matter in suspension and prevents it from suffocating the substrate..."

Never forget - is great to have a LFS you can trust - but keep in mind they always have an "agenda" - sell you "something" - unfortunatly, as we often see here, all to often, "anything"... >

Not to take the fun out of your own reading and research - but, even here, don't 100% trust anything you may read - ultimatly responsibility for welfare and quality of care of your marine animals is yours and yours alone.

FWIW - Enjoy!

OmarD