Any Tips for adding live sand to existing sandbed to mitigate cloudy water.

[Ziggy17]

I’m thinking of draining 2/3 of the water adding the 40 lbs of live sand, letting it settle for an hour and then putting the water back in carefully to not disturb the sandbed. I have about an inch of live sand in there already but I want to keep a wrasse that buries itself so a thicker bed is required. Thoughts or tips? Btw, it’s fine sand so it doesn’t take much to stir it up. See photo of sand.

 

[shakacuz]

do you have corals? leaving them out of water for a prolonged period of time may cause some unnecessary stress.

it'll take longer, but i would suggest using a small plastic cup to scoop the new sand out of the bag and into the water and slowly tip it over the areas you'd like to "deepen".

another idea is to do the same cup suggestion, but get a small pump to suck up the cloudy water into a filter sock in your sump to mitigate the cloudiness without having the drain your water 2/3 of the way as you mention.

 

[smitten with ocean life]

thats how i did it. small cupfuls slowly

 

[dangles]

I used a 30” long x 3” diameter tube to deliver the sand directly to the sandbed. It works okay if you go very very slowly. It’s not perfect by a long shot but it’s better than just dumping it in.

After I got finished adding the sand I used calcium carbonate (“coral snow”) to help clear up the water.

 

[Ziggy17]

I do have some LPS above the bottom third of the tank. I was thinking in all it would take about 20 minutes, maybe 30 to complete everything.

I thought about scooping it as well, but it will likely still get cloudy. But I can use a 5 micron on the sump with a 1” hose to get as much of the cloudiness out.

Appreciate the tip.

 

[JaysLittleOcean]

I second going with a tube and a funnel.

 

[Ziggy17]

I used a 30” long x 3” diameter tube to deliver the sand directly to the sandbed. It works okay if you go very very slowly. It’s not perfect by a long shot but it’s better than just dumping it in.

After I got finished adding the sand I used calcium carbonate (“coral snow”) to help clear up the water.

So the tube angled in like a slide? And when you say very slowly, do you mean one cup at a time down the slide?

 

[Dburr1014]

Rinse the clouds out before going in your tank.
No, it will not kill all the bacteria in the sand.
Tap, final in saltwater.
Funnel into a PVC pipe to the bottom of the tank.

 

[dangles]

So the tube angled in like a slide? And when you say very slowly, do you mean one cup at a time down the slide?

Yes and yes.

I didn’t have the patience and ended up going faster and just dealt with the sandstorm lol

 

[moretor1]

I've never added sand to a stocked tank but would cloudy water even harm anything for a day or so?
Corals might be slightly irritated maybe but probably a lot less than if they got pulled out the water

 

[Dan_P]

I’m thinking of draining 2/3 of the water adding the 40 lbs of live sand, letting it settle for an hour and then putting the water back in carefully to not disturb the sandbed. I have about an inch of live sand in there already but I want to keep a wrasse that buries itself so a thicker bed is required. Thoughts or tips? Btw, it’s fine sand so it doesn’t take much to stir it up. See photo of sand.

I am curious why you would do this?

 

[Ziggy17]

I am curious why you would do this?

Thanks for that tip.

 

[Dan_P]

Thanks for that tip.

TSK, TSK