Live sand

[montiporalova]

Hi everyone.

I have a 100 rimless tank with no sand and lots of livestock. My question is,
Can I add new live sand to my already stablished system with out any issues?
Thanks

[Tenshoa]

I don't see why not. It's going to get awful cloudy though if you don't take your time adding it. Also, you can expect to go through a few filter socks pretty quickly if you're using them. If not, I would advise doing so.

I occasionally top off my sand in my tank.

Do you have livestock in there now?

[montiporalova]

I don't see why not. It's going to get awful cloudy though if you don't take your time adding it. Also, you can expect to go through a few filter socks pretty quickly if you're using them. If not, I would advise doing so.

I occasionally top off my sand in my tank.

Do you have livestock in there now?

Yes I do have one.

[Tenshoa]

Oops. I can't post the link here.

Google search "how to add sand to an existing reef tank". The first link should help you minimize cloudiness

[montiporalova]

Thank you. This is live sand out of a bag, do you think I need to rinse?

[NewOne81]

Or you could not add sand and stay barebottom. Lots of people do, it can make tank maintenance a ton easier when cleaning out the display not to mention all the flow you can have without kicking up a sand storm:) Just playing devils advocate. Happy reefing whatever you choose!

[Tenshoa]

Thank you. This is live sand out of a bag, do you think I need to rinse?

No. Don't rinse it. Live sand has beneficial bacteria in it. Not to mention, rinsing it will require you to use RODI water. Otherwise you can expect diatoms to form from the silicates in your tap water.

[Tenshoa]

Or you could not add sand and stay barebottom. Lots of people do, it can make tank maintenance a ton easier when cleaning out the display not to mention all the flow you can have without kicking up a sand storm:) Just playing devils advocate. Happy reefing whatever you choose!

Personally, I once gave this a lot of thought. But the thought of a rock cracking the glass alone made me cringe. Not to mention the pain it is to have to continuously scrape coraline off the glass. Plus with sand you can keep quite a few extra critters. Many of which help eat detritus and decomposing pieces such as nassarius snails and cucumbers.

I run 3 powerful powerheads plus 2 returns from a Mag 9 and my water is crystal clear. No clouding from sand at all.

That's not to say I haven't seen some nice looking bare bottom tanks though.

Just my .02.

[Rocklgnd2b]

Depending on the amount of sand you could have a mini cycle

[cjcolvin]

+1 on the mini cycle. If you are adding store bought "live" sand be careful on stressing your tank inhabitants with a mini cylce.

[Lacy]

I would do a little at a time. Maybe 1/5 of the tank at a time. This will help with the mini cycle.

[phillrodrigo]

Out of curiosity how would adding sand to a tank create a cycle. Have never heard that and almost doesnt make much sense. I also wouldnt bother with the live sand in a established tank unless you can only find the one you want in live. The live rock will quickly seed your sand with the correct bacteria thats in your tank

[ca1ore]

IMO/IME 'live' sand is a big old waste of money, but it is particularly pointless for an already established aquarium. Use dry sand, wash it REALLY well to get out the fines and either add it by pouring it down a tube or putting it into ziplock bags and emptying it out on the bottom of the tank.

[GroktheCube]

"Live" sand in a bag is kinda pointless IMHO. Even if it did have lots of bacteria in it when packed, there's an excellent chance many of them will have died off, which could cause a mini-cycle.

If you want to add sand, I'd suggest getting some high quality dry sand like Tropic Eden. It will become "live" over time.