Adding Live Sand to Established tank.

Drock169 · #1 08-13-2009, 03:59 PM

I also run a canister filter full of filter floss to speed things up, its the only reason i still have my XP filter.

kien · #2 08-13-2009, 04:18 PM

On my new tank I ran bare bottom for all of two hours before I decided I didn't like the look and decided to add sand. This was after everyone was already in the new tank. I like to rinse sand thoroughly before adding it. Even a bag of live sand can have some die off and bad chems trapped in it. It won't take long for the sand to become "live" from being near the live rock and from the fish pooping on it all day long :-)

I did not have very much clouding when I added my sand. After I rinsed it in a bucket, I scoopped it up with a large mixing cup and slowly lowered the cup to the bottom of the tank and dumped the sand. Oh, and if you do decide to rinse your sand, just rinse a few cups at a time. Don't try to rinse the whole bag at once, that's just a huge pain! The shorter the distance the sand has to travel to settle the less clouding you will get. It can be a slow and painful process but if you take the time, you can do it with virtually no clouding. If you do end up getting clouding, a filter like floss or filter sock will clean it up pretty quick.

hummer · #3 08-13-2009, 04:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kien

I like to rinse sand thoroughly before adding it. Even a bag of live sand can have some die off and bad chems trapped in it.

What type of water did you rinse the sand with?

Ron99 · #4 08-13-2009, 05:00 PM

When I did mine I washed several times with tap water and then two rinses with RO/DI.

kien · #5 08-13-2009, 05:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ron99

When I did mine I washed several times with tap water and then two rinses with RO/DI.

That's what I did :-) Actually, I did a quick rinse cycle with tap water (entire bag of sand in a large tub. Just took it outside and sprayed it with a garden hose. Then rinsed a few cups at a time in a bucket with RO/DI water to finish it off before putting it in the tank 4 cups at a time. Might have been overkill rising it with RO/DI though, as there wasn't a lot of rinse water going back into the tank. Just mostly sand.

naesco · #6 08-13-2009, 08:41 PM

If you like the look I would recommend you add another inch so that the look will also function as well.
Some one near you may give you a scoop or two (that is all you need) of their sand provided they do not have a pest problem.
The fauna that live in live rock are not the same as the fauna that live in the sand.

ILIKECOUGARS · #7 08-14-2009, 12:02 AM

I had added sand to my tank and I use a 1" 1/2 pipe that I left over from pumbing my sump, just pour the sand down the pipe along the bottom of your tank. I did rinse it first. Sand on the bottom not on your live rock or coral. Also did not cloud up the tank.