changing sand

[kevinohio]

Are you supposed to change sand from the tank bottom?
And if so how often? I would think you leave it.

[kaingers2]

What kind of sand do you have? in any case you want to leave it. If it develops algae or other mess on the surface, you should stir it up yourself or purchase nassarius snails or bumble bee snails to help turn it over for you. A goby does a great job at this, but be wear that they are jumpers!

[kevinohio]

When I started I went with live sand, pre packaged stuff. Argonite I think. but its been a while.

[davewbush]

Agonite says on the package that you do not have to change the sand. This is just what I read though. I would like to know too.

[Sk8r]

No sand changing. Don't clean it, don't stir it if it's a deep sandbed (3-4"). That's where a major portion of your good bacteria live, and you want them down there, not up in the water.

[kevinohio]

OK that is what I thought, I had heard someone talking about changing it. I didnt think you should.

[Aquarist007]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14474281#post14474281 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by kevinohio
OK that is what I thought, I had heard someone talking about changing it. I didnt think you should.

You don't need to change it but once a year I would top it up about 1/2 with new argonite. Over time the argonite looses its buffering ability and becomes denser or clumped together. There are beneficial algae, bacteria and inverts that live in the sand.

This is easily done without a mess--get a long piece of pvc piping and put a funnel on the end. This way you can direct the new sand along the surface of the substrate without a sand storm.

Also it is a good idea to allow bristle worms and nessarius snails to grow in the substrate--they keep it loose and prevent it from clumping.