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DC5 · 01-05-2004, 04:49 PM

Hi all, found this forum very helpful, and am reading a lot as I have just started a tank a week ago...

I got a 30 gallon tank with 10 lbs of LR (for now) and started to cycle the tank last week. I have a canister filter, a fluidized bed filter and a protein skimmer running at the moment, and my conditions are as follow

Temp: 77 C
specific gravity: 1.021
pH: 8.2

I have be testing my water daily and I found something funny as my ammonia increase these past 6 days to like 0.035 ppm it has dropped to about 0 today. Same thing to my Nitrite level, it was around 0.2-0.5 ppm, and now it's been dropped to around 0.1?

Do you guys think the Protein Skimmer has anything to do with it? As I know that the main purpose for it, is to remove detritis stuff in the water, and I am thinking my bateria is not getting enough "waste" to work on and grow... is that possible? should I remove the protein skimmer for now? TIA!!! [smiley=2thumbsup.gif]

01-05-2004, 04:49 PM	#1 (permalink)
DC5 Astrea Snail Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Drexel Hill, PA,Pennsylvania Posts: 34 Karma: 1	Protein skimmer when cycling the Tank? Hi all, found this forum very helpful, and am reading a lot as I have just started a tank a week ago... I got a 30 gallon tank with 10 lbs of LR (for now) and started to cycle the tank last week. I have a canister filter, a fluidized bed filter and a protein skimmer running at the moment, and my conditions are as follow Temp: 77 C specific gravity: 1.021 pH: 8.2 I have be testing my water daily and I found something funny as my ammonia increase these past 6 days to like 0.035 ppm it has dropped to about 0 today. Same thing to my Nitrite level, it was around 0.2-0.5 ppm, and now it's been dropped to around 0.1? Do you guys think the Protein Skimmer has anything to do with it? As I know that the main purpose for it, is to remove detritis stuff in the water, and I am thinking my bateria is not getting enough "waste" to work on and grow... is that possible? should I remove the protein skimmer for now? TIA!!! [smiley=2thumbsup.gif] _________ Set up: 30 gallon glass, 30 lbs LR, Fluidized Bed Filter, protein skimmer, canister filter, 140 watts actinic.&&Livestock: 2 Clarkii, Coral Beauty, Green Mandarin, Blue Hippo Tang, cleaner shrimp, 2 boxing crabs, some scarlet hermit crabs and snails. Coral: Green Brain Goblet, yellow polyps.