adding sand to established tank...

[fishfatty]

Today im getting about 25 lbs. of free Bahamas oolic (spelling) sand. I already have live sand in my 6 month old 75 gal. reef tank. He said that the sand was once live and has been sitting for a little bit now, so its now dead. I guess I will rinse it with fresh or saltwater before putting it in my tank? Will this cause any ammonia spike or any of my levels to be out of line?
Thanks in advance!

 

[mopar9012]

dont rinse it with freshwater. Im not sure if it will cause a spike, you might just want to put it in a bucket of SW for a week or 2 just in case.

 

[tangs123]

i added about 20 more pounds of buffer one day, the tank got cloudy for about a whole day, it didn't cause and ammonia spike for me, just make sure you have a protein skimmer going to get out some wastes on the sand
i would rinse it though, i rinsed it off in freshwater and it gets tons of debris off

 

[vanquish]

agreed. Use a cup to add it to your tank too. It reduces the cloudiness. Scoop the sand, lower it into the tank, and dont pour till you get to the bottom. Then much less sand is suspended in the water and it clears MUCH faster

 

[sagxman]

Also try to add it over a period of days unless you are just adding a small layer. If you add too thick of a layer it may kill some of the critter underneath. Give them some time to move into the new sand.

 

[fishfatty]

so freshwater will do it?

 

[fishfatty]

bump