adding sand to dsb

[ambulocetus]

Okay, so I know i ask lots of silly questions, but i guess that is how we learn!! Thank you all for your patience

I was worried about the depth of sand in my dsb, but i didn't want to destroy the colonies all ready present in it. Will i be ok just to add an inch or two to the top, or should i try and peel back some of the top inches, lay the new sand, and then replace the old sand on top of it?

TIA

[scuba_steve]

your ok to add mabe 1" at a time !! ya want to give the critters time to move on up

[evenings]

How thick is your dsb now? I agree on the 1 inch at a time, u don't want another ammonia spike as I've read adding lots of live sand at one time might trigger another ammonia spike. Remember, top 2 inches of live sand on a dsb are for aerobic bacteria, middle 2 inches are for anaerobic bacteria and the remainder at the bottom are for the foul smelling anoxic bacteria... just FYI, I've read it on this great book i bought, The Complete book of Marine Aquarium.