Adding live sand into established tank?

[appaloosa1]

I have a 24g nano cubewith a thin layer of crushed coral. I didn't know much about substrates when I set it up so thats why itrs cc and so thin! I 'm considering putting live sand on top of the crushed coral. would this be ok? and hows the best way to do it in an established tank with fish without causing a big mess in the water. Will I have a mini cycle? Would it be best to buy LS directly from someone breaking down their tank so it doesn't sit around in a bag like at the LFS?

 

[jmick]

In time the sand will settle to the bottom and the cc will be on top again. I would never use someones old sand (unless) it's a very small amount to seed a new sand bed because you never know what you are gonna get, it could be loaded with nutrients or copper.

 

[renogaw]

never is such a long time. I recently added about 40-60lbs of sand to my DT. I did get some of the sand from someone who had a reef setup so i wasn't too concerned with copper, although i probably should have asked. I did though QT it for 5-6 weeks just to make sure there was no ich in the substrate.
You will though need to remove the CC. i believe some people use it to make DIY rocks btw, so don't toss it

 

[jmick]

Many sandbeds I've seen are not maintained properly and are nutrient sinks but if you wanna use that to save some $$ then that is your decision. I like dry oolitic sand and would also skip bagged "live sand".

 

[appaloosa1]

i think if i got live sand it would probably be from someone in the local reef club so i know that they are responsible and would never put copper in a reef tank. asking about ich is a good idea too. what kind of bagged Live sand do you guys like? Also what is this dry sand you are talking about?

 

[jmick]

Originally Posted by Appaloosa1
i think if i got live sand it would probably be from someone in the local reef club so i know that they are responsible and would never put copper in a reef tank. asking about ich is a good idea too. what kind of bagged Live sand do you guys like? Also what is this dry sand you are talking about?
If you have access to a reef club then you could get small bags from a number of people, which would likely add to the diversity of your sandbed.
I don't use any prebagged lived sand from stores. Oolitic is a very fine sand and ideal for sand beds.

 

[appaloosa1]

where do you get oolitic sand?

 

[jmick]

I got it at my local reef store.