new 46 bowfront 2weeks old/ should skimmer be on? or off?

[reefer0924]

got a new tank starting its about 2 weeks old ammonia is spiking and nitrites and nitrates are gettin up also. i just got my protein skimmer (remora) and hooked it up. now should i leave it off while its cycling? will it slow down the cycling process? or will it help the process? thanks in advance for any advice

[Parrothead]

Keep it on, there are very few times when the skimmer should be off, during the cycle is not one of them. as a matter of fact the skimmer is a huge, huge plus while cycling, as it will remove the nasties that come along with the cycle

[reefer0924]

ok its been on, its my 1st tank ive cycled that i have a skimmer for while its cycling. my 1st tank i got the skimmer long after it cycled, (i was new to this and wasnt educated enough before i started but have learned from my mistakes and am still learning) and my second is a 14 gallon biocube on my nightstand that doesnt have one nor does it have room for one. I wasnt sure if it would mess with the cycle, but thanks for clearing that up, thanks again, also my ammonia spiked and is now fine , now the nitrates have spiked and are coming down, the nitrites are spiking also, so the tank should be pretty close to finishing cycling, once the nitrites arte at 0 can i start putting corals immediately or should i wait? and should i only put in hardy corals at 1st? or as long as the tanks fine does it matter? i want to put in a good size anenomae, wich ive heard should go in 1st so they can find a spot, is it safe to put it in once its cycled?

[Parrothead]

Once your NITRITES are at 0 do a partial water change, and add your cleanup crew only, do not start adding any type of coral right away, just the clean up crew, give it a while to mature and start doing its thing, patience is the key to this hobby.

[gregony]

I agree with Parrothead. Patience is the key. Also the tank should be well matured, at least a year old, before adding an anemone, and if you don't want the algae cycle messing with the corals, you may want to hold off a few months before adding those. As to which to add first, I'm no good with anemones so I couldn't say, but, I've read that they never stop moving around completely.

[reefer0924]

ok great, i might stay clear all together and avoid gettin an anonomae, also as far as clean up crew, i was gonna go with turbo snails, ive read they are the best at cleaning, is this true? if not any ideas or suggestions? my lfs has scarlet reef hermits, 10/7.99$, i was thinkin about gettin them also, what im trying to figure is how many i should get, ive tried researching and havent got a stright forward answer any input on all of this is greatly apreciated, thank you