Adding Sand to existing floorbed of tank

[adeliel]

Right now I have a very shallow ( about an inch or so )floorbed of aragonite that's medium to sorta fine. I was wondering what would happen if i added fine live sand to it what would happen? Or is is better to just stick with the same stuff and add it to the existing floorbed of my tank. Also, what would be the best method for adding it?

[Pudge957]

Just recently I added about 15# of sand to my tank. You have to do it over a period of time really slow. I added about a cup of sand every third day or so.

[adeliel]

oh ok, but how about the difference in size? Does the finer sand eventually go under the courser aragonite?

[1904]

I have argaonite too for substrate the same stuff as the A|RM calicuim reactor arg. I added some bahama oolite and it sunk to the bottom. There is a rule however that it os not good to add a whole bunch of sand to an existing established tank.

[adeliel]

Yeah I thought that, i'm a bit scared to get an algae bloom or something. Right now my tank looks really good, I was patient and all that, and fought off blooms much earlier when i first started, in the first year or whatever, but not the LR is so colourful, and the aragonite is pretty damn clean and white, with some colour in it as well.

[adeliel]

Also my aragonite is much finer than ARM calcium reactor aragonite. So just wondering if anyone out there has added fine sand with good results. I do want to get a deeper sandbed.

[cliff717]

i added sand about a year ago i took it slow adding some a section at a time i did place fine sugar argonite over course stuff and all was good. a trick to keep the sand storm to a minimum is to get some large abs pipe (i used 2") and long enough to reach the bottom of your tank and add the sand through the tube. the sand goes right to the bottom without getting all blown around and you can control where it lands.
hth

[adeliel]

did the finer stuff go to the bottom eventually?

[cliff717]

the finer stuff sort of filled in all the space in the course stuff but the course did stay at the bottom. but remember that the fine stuff does get blown around in hills where the flow hits it. i like that look but some would prefer a smooth sand bed

[adeliel]

cool thanks for the tips, I have no qualms with having a little uneveness in my sandbed. Just wanted to make sure that I won't cause chaos in the tank. The 2" PVC thing is a good tip. Another question, was the finer aragonite already already from an established tank and wet, or did you buy it dry?

[cliff717]

i have used wet and dry both and the dry does definatly go down the pipe better but the wet sand will work also you just have to go slower. in my 150 i added mine about a inch deep and about six inch square every week and had no issues. if you are using used sand just make sure you wash it really well.

[Sk8r]

Get a funnel and some large gauge hose or pipe: run hose straight to bottom, pour a weekly dose of new sand into funnel, into hose, move hose to distribute---but WASH the sand in ro/di or old salt water first! Otherwise it will cloud your water. Another method is to sink wet sand in a ziplock and open the bag at the bottom, gently loosing it.

Expect a bloom of new hair algae: phosphate comes in with new sand or rock---always happens. Just be prepared to get the phosphate out: a gfo reactor helps; a fuge helps more.

[adeliel]

Dry it is. Very good tips and pointers. Thanks Cliff717. Any suggestions on the substrate I should add, should I stick to a much finer aragonite? Or should I add fine sand? Any benefits over the other, drawbacks?

[adeliel]

nice Sk8r. the ziplock bag idea sounds very useful too. I hate hair algae (plucking it by hand sucks ***), would it get on my LR eventually too?

[floridazooguy]

I did the zip lock bag and it worked but the pipe idea seems like a good one also.

[kynsee]

Adding sand slowly at a time is the best way to go. You wouldn't want to disturb your livestock like an exploding bomb.