newb skimmer questions

hello,
here is the scoop, I got my 44 gal cycling with cured live rock and dead rock, goin on 3 weeks saturday. i got my bio wheel going but with no carbon, and a ph for circ. i just diy a hang on tank skimmer ill send pics once my camera battery charges. 1st question, were should the water level be in the reaction chamber? 2nd how long should it take to get some skimmate. 3rd should i be running it now? i have no fish, i threw a small piece of shrimp in there to get my cycle started.

 

1st, some skimmers have a water line sticker on it. 2nd, I dont think your going to have any skimate b/c your still cycling and have no fish. 3rd, I dont think you need to run the skimmer at this point, wouldnt hurt, but dont see the point. hope this helps, Luna

 

sit back and wait how are your ammonia and nitrates lookig? did the brown come yet?

 

I just tested and the results are in.
spec. gravity- 1.023
P.H. 8.6 ( is it supposed to get this high i thought it was supposed to drop during cycling)
ammonia- 2.5 ppm( as shown on card)
nitrite-1 or more( card did not get any higher)
nitrate- i didnt test it
temp- 77-78f

are theses readings too high, or is this the infamous SPIKE?
sorry kinda switched topics but figured id ask about the readings.

thanks for all the help couldnt do it with out all of you.

oh yeah got that pic too. im not sure why its tilted just look at it sideways.
in action after about 8 hours. no skimmate. it looks like a robot. im gonna name him archie.

 

So....you built that skimmer yourself? That's pretty cool! I doubt you'll see any skimmate for awhile like the others said. As far as asking what the water level should be in the chamber, I generally keep mine about an inch or so below the top of the "drop off" in the collection cup. Did you fashion some sort of control valve? My only concern is that it looks like the top of your "drop off" is really wide. I've never seen one so wide, they always tend to bottle-neck....

 

Oh and yes your tank is going through the normal spike. Another 3 weeks and you should be good to start adding fish...SLOWLY.

 

that is true brandon never really thought about it . damn it . althou u cant see in the pic but its longer than wide. so the pvc neck actuly is alot smaller its just the angle i think.
should i turn it off till like a few days befor i decide to add fish? it will it make a difference.? i made it out of little storage container and a power head. it turend out a lot better than i thought. it dosent leak! and it pumps a decent amount of water. and i nice froth of bubbles milky white! cost about 12$ not including pumps

oh and question for anyone? anyone got any ideas for crabs, snails, shrimp. its 44 gal. fish i want are
common clown
small watchman gobie
dwarf fire angel
mandarin after its well establised
does this sound like too many? are they compatable
any of your ideas would be appreciated.
would this leave a possiblity for a invert or two? after like 6-year
sorry im asking all these questions on my skimmer thread. i should rename it newb general. i have read so much info . but i can't stop going over it again and again.

 

Turn the skimmer off, it's taking things out of the water column right now that you need in the initial stages of a tank. I would wait for 4 to 6 months before you turn it on plus it depends on the bio-load you put in the tank.

 

really, thats what i thought. well at least i know it works.
Any stocking suggestions for my size tank im open to suggestions.