Adding sandbed/substrate to a new refugium on an existing tank with fish and coral

[chips]

I just finished building my refugium and am wondering what sandbed to put in and how to add it. If I put a live sand in the fuge will it cycle my tank? If so, how do I add this without causing a cycle? I saw some sand that said it cycles instantly and you can add fish immediately. I currently have fish and coral in my DT and am trying to avoid any cycle if possible. I don't really want a DSB of 4 inches since I only have 8 inches of water to play with. I don't know if 4" water depth is enough for fragging or cheato? What should I do to atleast add some sand/substrate to the fuge in order to grow macro algae and some fragging?

 

[bang guy]

1/2" of sand is just fine for your scenario. If it were me I would buy dry aragonite, lightly rinse it, and cure it in a bucket.
If you're in a hurry then a bag of the commercial so called live sand can be added directly to the refugium. 1/2" of real live sand can also be added directly to the tank.

 

[slice]

When I added my refugium to the existing system, I skimmed a bit of sand from the DT for a 1/2" sandbed in the fuge.

 

[chips]

Should I put the aragonite in a extra 10 gallon tank I have and put a skimmer in it or a power head or anything? Can I add the aragonite to a bucket of water that I drain out of the DT during a water change, or should it be fresh saltwater?

 

[chips]

Slice,
I only have a thin layer of substrate/aragonite (about 1 to 1.5 inches) in my DT. I have about 70 lbs of live rock. I think taking out enough to fill a 12" x 12" fuge would leave me a little thin in the DT for the diamond gobie, cleaner clams and nasarius snails?

 

[chips]

Bang Guy,
I'm not in much of a hurry and could wait a week for something to cure if needed. For the live sand would something like the Caribsea Live Sand oolite be good for adding straight to the fuge and tank? How will the Diamond Goby, nassarius snail and cleaner clams do with the sand?

 

[bang guy]

That sand would be perfect for your application and can be added directly.
Don't be concerned with any clouding, it's harmless.

 

[chips]

Great. Thanks for your help. I will be going by the LFS and see if they have any of this in stock so I don't have to pay shipping.

 

[florida joe]

First a hobbyist needs to understand. What we mean when we say cycle. A tank can cycle the brake down of organic matter from toxic to nontoxic. Anything we introduce into our tank that will overwhelm a stage of this cycle can be detrimental. The sand does not cycle what it does is provide a place for the bacteria which converts organic matter to nitrogen gas
Quote:
If I put a live sand in the fuge will it cycle my tank? If so, how do I add this without causing a cycle? I saw some sand that said it cycles instantly and you can add fish immediately.

 

[chips]

Florida joe,
I understand that. What I should have asked is will my ammonia levels spike to a harmful level when adding live sand. If so, how would I add this live sand so I don't overwhelm the biological system?

 

[florida joe]

Quote:
Originally Posted by ChipS http:///t/389359/adding-sandbed-substrate-to-a-new-refugium-on-an-existing-tank-with-fish-and-coral#post_3440825
Florida joe,
I understand that. What I should have asked is will my ammonia levels spike to a harmful level when adding live sand. If so, how would I add this live sand so I don't overwhelm the biological system?
So I ask you what will cause your ammonia to spike when adding live sand. And the fact if you get a spike means that your bio filtration is being overwhelmed. I again ask you how you would introduce sand into your system as to allow the bio filtration to handle the total amount of sand added

 

[snakeblitz33]

There goes Joe, overcomplicating it, lol.

 

[slice]

Quote:
Originally Posted by SnakeBlitz33 http:///t/389359/adding-sandbed-substrate-to-a-new-refugium-on-an-existing-tank-with-fish-and-coral#post_3440867
There goes Joe, overcomplicating it, lol.
Nope, he is trying to make sure folks think things through properly.

 

[chips]

Joe,
I don't know what would cause it, that is why I was asking. To make sure I don't cause a spike.
I know that a spike in ammonia would mean that my bio filtration was overwhelmed, hence my concern
I don't know how I would add the sand to the system to allow the bio filtration to handle the amount added. This is why I asked how to add it so I didn't overwhelm it.

 

[beaslbob]

I would just put in chaetomorphia and not sand. It will consume nitrates and ammonia as well. Not to mention phosphates and carbon dioxide while returning pods, fish food, and oxygen.
my .02

 

[florida joe]

Quote:
Originally Posted by SnakeBlitz33 http:///t/389359/adding-sandbed-substrate-to-a-new-refugium-on-an-existing-tank-with-fish-and-coral#post_3440867
There goes Joe, overcomplicating it, lol.
No if I really wanted to overcomplicate it I would have started a thread called “Joes method of adding sand to a refuge” LOL

 

[slice]

Quote:
Originally Posted by florida joe http:///t/389359/adding-sandbed-substrate-to-a-new-refugium-on-an-existing-tank-with-fish-and-coral#post_3440906
No if I really wanted to overcomplicate it I would have statered a thread called “Joes method of adding sand to a refuge” LOL

 

[florida joe]

Quote:
Originally Posted by Slice http:///t/389359/adding-sandbed-substrate-to-a-new-refugium-on-an-existing-tank-with-fish-and-coral#post_3440874
Nope, he is trying to make sure folks think things through properly.
Chips Slice is absolutely right so let’s think it through. You are worried about causing an ammonia spike if you add live sand to your new refuge. Well ammonia would be the result of your bio filtration not responding to the amount of organic degrading from the live sand. So how do you prevent this? Well we know that our bio filtration bacteria colonies grow in relation to the amount of “food” presented to them so why not just add a fraction of the total amount of sand. Check after a few days (have a product like Prime on hand to neutralize any ammonia) if all is normal after the first addition of sand continues this way untill it is all introduced. Sounds logical does it not?

 

[chips]

Joe,
Yes that does sound logical and makes sense. If I understand this correctly, this method would work with just about any live substrate or cured substrate as long as the bio filtration bacteria is given time to grow.
Example 1: I want to add a 2" layer of wet aragonite to my tank or refugium. I could add 1' this week and let the bio filtration bacteria to grow and handle the amount of die off. Do my weekly water change and then add the other 1" of wet aragonite.
Example 2: I want to add a 2" layer of dry aragonite to my tank or refugium. I would rinse and cure the dry aragonite. Then add 1' this week and let the bio filtration bacteria grow. Do my weekly water change and then add the remaining 1" of cured aragonite
Would these examples work or is wet/dry aragonite different than sand and would have a higher amount of organic degradation? Or is this getting to far off the topic of adding sand?

 

[spanko]

I would not worry about any "curing" of dry aragonite myself. I would just rinse well and put it in the fuge. I would then take a cupful of sand from the display and add it to the fuge to populate the fuge substrate. I would however in this case stay away from the "live" bagged sand.
Just my opinion.
"No if I really wanted to overcomplicate it I would have started a thread called “Joes method of adding sand to a refuge” LOL"
Perfect!!!