Adding sand to established reef tank?

[OpenOcean33]

After the great dinoflagelate battle of 2018 my reef tank has been left with a thin (1/4 inch)deep sand bed. I have a 20lbs bag of sand how can i got about adding this? do i have to rinse it, or had a little bit at a time? My tank is a year old and looking to just add ontop of old sand.

 

[Dimmy007]

After the great dinoflagelate battle of 2018 my reef tank has been left with a thin (1/4 inch)deep sand bed. I have a 20lbs bag of sand how can i got about adding this? do i have to rinse it, or had a little bit at a time? My tank is a year old and looking to just add ontop of old sand.

I would definitely rinse it. It will cause cloudiness when you add it in. 1/4 is a very shallow sand bend so there should not be a problem adding it in.

 

[OpenOcean33]

I would definitely rinse it. It will cause cloudiness when you add it in. 1/4 is a very shallow sand bend so there should not be a problem adding it in.

Okay thank you, other than cloudiness any problem that occue that i should just be aware of that i can look out for?

 

[Ron Reefman]

You shouldn't have any issues that I can think of. I'd certainly rinse the new sand, especially if your tank already has corals in it.

I've read of people adding sand by feeding it down a section of 2" PVC pipe (size isn't a big deal). The top of the pipe just above the water and maybe even a small funnel at the top to pour sand into (slowly). The bottom end very, very close to the existing sand bed. You could even set the bottom in the sand and let the pipe 'fill' with the new sand and then gently lift the pipe just enough so the new sand spills out at the bottom. That should reduce the cloudy water concerns substantially.

 

[Matt Carden]

If you use special grade sand clouding isn't a problem after a good rinse.

 

[PatW]

With sand, it is a good idea to rinse, rinse, rinse and rinse some more. Adding sand to an established tank can be done. I just took a half cup plastic measuring cup with sand in it, reached in and placed it where I wanted it. Even with rinsing, you will probably get some cloudiness for awhile.

 

[Slicktop]

I would add a few cups after changing my water and use the water you remove to rinse the new sand. Do this after every water change until you have your desired amount. Mix the new sand with the existing sand bed each time.

 

[OpenOcean33]

If you use special grade sand clouding isn't a problem after a good rinse.

im using carib sea pink fiji.

 

[davocean]

I would add to one half side of tank, then other half a week later, this way you are not just burying beneficial life, and it will seed over to new sand.

Dry sand well rinsed, DI water preferably, and I use PVC tube to keep it contained where I want w/ minimal dust cloud, cause even well rinsed it will probably still cloud some, this helps keep to a minimum.

 

[sandswhitson]

I would also recommend adding a little at a time. I have used the PVC pipe method and it works well.

 

[OpenOcean33]

I would add to one half side of tank, then other half a week later, this way you are not just burying beneficial life, and it will seed over to new sand.

Dry sand well rinsed, DI water preferably, and I use PVC tube to keep it contained where I want w/ minimal dust cloud, cause even well rinsed it will probably still cloud some, this helps keep to a minimum.

WHat i have is carib sea live sand. i will rinse it add half the bad (20lbs bag) and maybe just keep the other half in rodi water for 2 weeks? what would be the best way to store an open bag of sand

 

[davocean]

WHat i have is carib sea live sand. i will rinse it add half the bad (20lbs bag) and maybe just keep the other half in rodi water for 2 weeks? what would be the best way to store an open bag of sand

I would rinse that in clean SW, keep the other half wet, probably rinse again before adding that a week later.

 

[Wen]

After the great dinoflagelate battle of 2018 my reef tank has been left with a thin (1/4 inch)deep sand bed. I have a 20lbs bag of sand how can i got about adding this? do i have to rinse it, or had a little bit at a time? My tank is a year old and looking to just add ontop of old sand.

Hello fellow Neapolitan!
Thanks for this post! I’m in the same boat of needing to add sand after battling dinoflagellates.
Definitely will use the pvc method to deliver rinsed live sand to only the bare spots of DT.
Great idea!!!

 

[Nicole Sarnowski]

Hi y’all
I was thinking of adding more sand to my sand bed. I don’t have corals, just fish and live rocks. I was wondering if y’all could explain the rinsing part to me? I don’t understand why you would rinse the sand if it is live sand? Please help me understand why... I’m still learning how to care for my tank and have made many errors.

 

[Nhjmc]

If it’s live sand you don’t rinse it

 

[WendyLady]

After the great dinoflagelate battle of 2018 my reef tank has been left with a thin (1/4 inch)deep sand bed. I have a 20lbs bag of sand how can i got about adding this? do i have to rinse it, or had a little bit at a time? My tank is a year old and looking to just add ontop of old sand.

So, how did it go? I am thinking about adding more sand to my existing sand bed too.

 

[Nhjmc]

So, how did it go? I am thinking about adding more sand to my existing sand bed too.

Went fine for me no issues. I'm no pro by any means that's for sure. I did research the topic online on a few different sites/watched two youtube videos as well on the topic but was still nervous adding the new live sand. Video (s) that I watched stressed how important it is to add a little bit of the new live sand daily over course of 3-4 days (is what I did anyway) not just dump the whole bag in at once and you must gently stir/mix into top of sand (i.e. don't disturb the existing sand bed too deeply) or you will suffocate the existing sand bed.

 

[Nhjmc]

Curious about comments above stating to rinse rinse rinse the sand?....again I'm no pro but I don't believe you rinse live sand. Maybe they're referring to dry sand not sure.

 

[Grill]

I've read this conversation before and thought I would share my experience. I used CaribSea Ocean Direct Live Sand in an already established 29gal. I turned off the powerhead & return pump then slowly added one cup at a time in all four corners, directly from the bag. (no rinsing) The instructions on the bag mentioned two things... you can rinse the sand in a clean bucket of saltwater, this procedure will remove some bacteria but wont effect overall performance. I'm guessing helps with the cloudiness and floating particulates. When placing substrate directly onto an existing substrate gently mix the new substrate into the existing substrate. (which I did) Overall the cloudiness wasn't that bad but I did notice a film on the glass and particulates floating. I turned on the return pump for about an hour then turned on the powerhead. 99% of the cloudiness was gone, the next day I used the same procedure to add four more cups and there were no ill effects on the tank. Hopes this helps others.