I am cycling a 20 gal. I've put in a deep sand base and about 17 lbs. of uncured live rock. I did not clean anything off of the rock. I plan on adding a skimmer and powerhead but am just running an aquaclear 20 gal max power filter. My questions: Should I take the rock back out and clean off or let it go and if I do let it go will I have to clean it at some point later before stocking? Does lighting and temp have any importance while cycling? Should I add the powerhead now while cycling to get better circ? Will there be an issue when I swap the filter for the skimmer when the cycling is done? Should I be doing water changes while cycling and how often? And how long should I expect for the cycling to complete? Thanks for any info!
Personaly, i would take it out and give it a quick scrub and wash off with saltwater, remove some of the dirt and gunk from it...
If the option is there, i would add another 10lbs of live rock now, and get rid of the filter..However, as it currently stands with the ammount of live rock, just keep the filter running.
Lighting will not make any difference in the cycling of the tank, most leave the lighting off while the cycle is running. Temp, yes, you need to get this up to around 75 - 78f and keep it there..
Yes, i would get a powerhead, or some powerheads in there as you will basically get very very little flow from that filter. how much flow you will need will depend on what you want the tank to become.
One thing to remember is that the skimmer does not replace the filter. When you fit the skimmer, dont take the filter off..
There is no need to change any water while running the cycle, just let nature take its course and then when it has finished, do a large (50%) water change to replenish trace elements. You can expect the cycle to last anywhere from a couple of weeks to 6 or more...there is no set pattern to the cycle length...you just have to be patient.
Hope this helps a little
Niko