Applying a NEW thin layer of substrate to existing

[RaymondL]

My substrate is quite dirty - green and brown, and is consistent in that it's not getting any better or worse - so it's stable in that way. I'm wondering if there's any harm if I scatter a new layer of the same substrate just enough to cover the dirty layer without any harm?

 

[afrokobe]

it will just get dirty again. You need something that will sift the sand like a conch or look into your nutrients

 

[JTP424]

Agreed with above, you should get a sand stirring cleaner of some sort.
But also, you can add more sand. I recommend using whatever you did previously and prepare it similarly.

If you don't want to get a sand stirrer, you can vacuum out the junk, but you will also end up sucking up minimal sand, which in turn you can replace as well.

 

[steveschuerger]

Yeah I have bunch of nassarius snails and a sea cucumber as well as well as some ceriths that do a fairly decent job. Just dumping new in will not help really. As has been mentioned it will get dirty again fast. I should know I did that and it was looking the same very quickly.

 

[RaymondL]

Yeah I have bunch of nassarius snails and a sea cucumber as well as well as some ceriths that do a fairly decent job. Just dumping new in will not help really. As has been mentioned it will get dirty again fast. I should know I did that and it was looking the same very quickly.

Thanks - how many snails do you have in your tank? I'm assuming I'll need many to ensure a constant churning of the substrate by these critters?

 

[JTP424]

check out "Reefcleaners.org" he's got some cleaner packages that he put together based on your tank size. You can order from him or use it as a reference. I would recommend ordering from him, good quality and good customer service.