How to make dry sand live. Benifits?

[exnisstech]

Here's what I would like to do. I have reefer 170 that I want to add sand to. I have a blue haddoni in the tank and have some sand already in that I added when I placed the nem but there is only enough for the nem . The tank is struggling with gha but corals are doing well and encrusting and some have turned into small colonies. I have another system that is thriving and what to me is very mature at 8 years. My thoughts are to place dry sand in containers and place it in the sump of the established tank with no light. What I don't know is how long would I have to leave that sand to make it live and maybe bring some biodiversity from the older tank to the 170 and prevent the uglies that always accompany new sand? Months? Years? Or is it even worth the effort? I'm going to add the sand to the 170 regardless but I'm trying to make the addition of sand a little smoother than when I have done the same previously. Just for info the mature tank is a 180g with 125g as a sump with a total volume around 225g tank is over 8 years old and running pretty much on auto pilot with Kalk and WCs the only thing it needs to keep it going at this point so I'm not too concerned with upsetting that tank by trying to seed some sand in the sump. If you've made it this far thanks. Sorry for being so long winded but sometimes I just have trouble compressing my thoughts.

 

[Stang67]

I would say 30 days in the sump to allow colonization. But I honestly don't know.

 

[Miami Reef]

Here‘s what I’d do:

1) Add the dry sand to your newer tank with the anemone.

2) Add a piece of rock from the 8+ year old tank to the newer tank.

3) Now all the bacteria from your established tank is added to the new tank. They will colonize your sand.

4) Add some snails, urchins, or a foxface fish to consume the GHA in your tank.

5) if the GHA is really long, you need to use a toothbrush or razor blade to trim it down.

 

[exnisstech]

Here‘s what I’d do:

1) Add the dry sand to your newer tank with the anemone.

2) Add a piece of rock from the 8+ year old tank to the newer tank.

3) Now all the bacteria from your established tank is added to the new tank. They will colonize your sand.

4) Add some snails, urchins, or a foxface fish to consume the GHA in your tank.

5) if the GHA is really long, you need to use a toothbrush or razor blade to trim it down.

Thanks. I had considered using rock and already have several trays of rubble in the established sump that I keep for cycling and providing critter habitat. Anytime I have added sand to an existing tank tho it has gotten covered diatoms and just looks nasty. I'm trying to avoid adding any additional nuisance algae even diatoms.
This is the second round with gha in this tank. I would love to add a fish that is an herbivore but with the large haddoni in the tank I'm hesitant to add fish.
I'm thinking of putting the sand in fine mesh bags and placing them in the established sump. I recently converted my frag section to a semi cryptic zone and the water flowing there is after filtration and without light (obviously) so I think that would be a good spot. I'm just not sure how long it would take to colonize the sand to be of any real benifit.
I've been wanting to add sand to the 170 for a while it's just that with the gha I don't want to make matters worse. I'm not freaking out over the gha and am working on it slowly and do have some astrea snails and a couple of huge Mexican turbos. The best eaters if seen yet though are my pair of emerald crabs. They will sit there and rip pieces of gha off the rocks and devour it but with only two they can't keep up. I'm half tempted to toss a dozen more in and let them have at it but not sure if they would spend more time fighting than eating, that's about all the hermits seem to do.

 

[brandon429]

Sand from reef tanks doesn't have unique animals different from the rock in the system they're shared zones. Worms that get in our sand come from rocks and added items, not from the original bagged sand that started the system

It does no good to prep like you're planning, it's only a feel good move it doesn't actually help the tank. Reef tank sand carries waste plus some pods and worms, pods and worms come from the rocks it doesn't matter how you prep the sand or if you didn't prep it at all, the outcome is the same to your system

 

[Dburr1014]

To add to Miami Reef:

1) add a little sand at a time or
2) add it all at once with the rubble.

But, I would definatly rinse it really well to get all the fines out with a finale quick soak in tank saltwater to displace the water.
Also, use a funnel on a pvc to the bottom so it doesn't get all disturb going to the bottom of the tank.

 

[brandon429]

Agreed. Not adding a massive cloud to the tank is the important part. The sand takes on the biota of the tank merely by being put in the tank.

 

[brandon429]

Double post edit

 

[Miami Reef]

I'm trying to avoid adding any additional nuisance algae even diatoms.
This is the second round with gha in this tank. I would love to add a fish that is an herbivore but with the large haddoni in the tank I'm hesitant to add fish.

I don’t agree that some diatoms are an issue. They are food for copepods. The diatoms might even displace some of the GHA.

Nevertheless, you can leave the sand in your established tank to allow the diatoms to remove the silica there. I’d probably leave it for 2 weeks, preferably in the light.

I would highly recommend a few urchins for the algae in the new tank.

 

[exnisstech]

I would highly recommend a few urchins for the algae in the new tank.

I tried a couple of tuxedo urchin previously but they pretty much just ate coralline off the bottom and back wall. They rarely ventured onto the rocks.

EDIT : "I don’t agree that some diatoms are an issue. They are food for copepods. The diatoms might even displace some of the GHA"

Thanks. Thats why I like to ask questions
I may go ahead and follow your advice and just add the sand and toss a tray of rubble from the old tank into the sump of the reefer 170 . Probably be the easiest in the long run and diatoms have never been the end of a tank.

EDIT 2: thanks to all others that also replied. The sand is all rinsed and ready. Been there done that on the cloudy tank

 

[Miami Reef]

Try some pincushion urchins. Also add some large snails.

Perhaps consider adding a clownfish to your anemone to fend it off from the other fish. Then you can add some herbivorous fish.

Edit: I highly recommend a foxface fish.