Adding sand to an established tank.

[rcolbath]

I have about 2 1/2 in. CC in my180 gal. reef and I would like to add maybe 2 in. of sand. Can I do this? will it upset my system? I have 230 lbs. LR and several corals in there now Is it too late to think about adding the sand? I was thinking if I was to use a small plastic bag and pour the sand on the bottom in little piles them I could spread it out without to much of a sand storm. Is this a bad Idea? Has any one tried this and if so were you happy with the results? Thanks, Rory

 

[quarryshark]

Your method sounds like a good one. No matter what you do, you will get some cloudy water.
What I did was add about 1/2" in depth and let it sit for about a week, then add another 1/2" and so on.
Didn't seem to bother anything and kept from suffocating the little sand critters.
HTH

 

[rcolbath]

Thanks alot Quarry. I was hoping someone had tried this. I wasn't thinking when I set tank up But I like the natural look of the sand and I heard the CC can be a nitrate factory. I'll do it a little at a time. Thanks,Rory

 

[quarryshark]

Have fun, its tough to get it in there to the places you want it. Especially if you have a lot of rock. I darn near went swimming trying to get it in certain tough places. 8O
Well worth the effort though. I took my tank from a 1.5" sand bed to a 4" sand bed in about 70-80% of my tank. Along with the removal of my bio balls, it brought my nitrates way down.
Oh ya, make sure to turn off your PH's too.

 

[rcolbath]

Looks like I have my work cut out. What sand do you recommend ? Heres the tank

Check out the coralline alage Cheap camera sorry. 4 weeks in.