adding live sand

[tripleup05]

I have a 46bow with 40lbs of live sand in it, and I have thought about adding about another ten. I didn't do things right, and my sand really is no longer live. I have stirred it up too much honestly. There are little to no worm holes, etc. However, I believe the nitrifying bacteria are still alive as I see air, well nitrate bubbles i think, rising up occasionally. Anyways, I was wondering how in the world I am supposed to add this sand without making the water totally cloudy. I remember when I first added the sand, and you couldnt see two inches into the tank. I think i remember something about putting the sand in a cup and taking it to the bottom and slowly dumping it. Is this about the best way? Thanks for the advice!

 

[Fishie Nut]

Tripleup...
I bought some GARF Grunge - 5 lbs to add to my 35 gal tank. They told me to put it in and let the tank cloud up. It will subside in 24 hours. It did. I don't think it really did any good and probably hurt more than it helped.

I'm a newbie, so my info is probably not very educational; just my experience.

 

[Meloco14]

tripleup, the way you described is best. Fill a cup with the sand, then add water to the cup, drop the cup in upright to the bottom, slowly pour it out. I heard it is best to pour it out in one spot and let the animals distribute themselves, then after a week or so you can level out the sand. You should also check out the live sand activator and wondermud at ipsf.com. I have used that stuff to seed my sand and it works great. It is only a small amount of sand, but a ton of worms, amphipods, etc, and it comes with some snails and microhermits. They also sell spaghetti worms, amphipods, microstars, and other live sand goodies. HTH

 

[Sponge_Bob]

The small cup method is the way to go. Creates less of a mess but mind you, if you really want a good answer, it's right there, out in nature.

In a shallow reef, when a major storm breaks out, what do you think happens at the bottom? The sand, mud and whatnot gets mixed a great deal and you can not see an inch in front of you as the water is so cloudy. Yet, you never see floating dead fish when the storm is gone. So fish are used to this and it is only normal to them that sometimes, mother nature and god (you) will stir up a storm in there!

Nothing to worry about. Been there and done that with no fish loss whatsoever.

HTH

 

[Omni2226]

If its truely live sand with micro bugs and worms its "wet" and isnt going to cause much of a cloud. Turn off all pumps, slowly pour it out on the bottom in a small pile in a lower water flow area then turn the pumps back on. Simple.