adding substrate to existing tank

[janastasio]

I took out the crushed coral substate about 1 month ago, and let everything settle in. I have no substrate currently other than the dregs of crushed coral. I would like to begin adding in a shallow sand bottom. I have seen people talk about buying play sand. Is there a specific brand I should be looking for, and how should I go about adding this in. I have 3 fish in the tank, alot of live rock and alot of coral! Thanks for the help.

 

[tangwhispr]

yes, there are some sands you can buy, make sure its calcium based, you can test this with vinegar...southdown & old castle...its hard to find now days, you're better off just buying reef sand and being safe

 

[dennis210]

Dry reef sand will work fine and be less exspensive. place it in a 5 gallon bucket, and rinse it well with water you remove when doing a water change.
Pour water in and really agitate it good, pour of cloudy water and repeat.
Once you get it clear I like to use a plastic pitcher like the ones that come with automatic drip coffeee makers. It's narrow enough to be useful for pouring in the sand. Just scoop the sand into the pitcher and then slowly lower it into the water. Get close to where you want it and slowly tip pitcher to "pour" sand under water. It works well, but remember to turn down your flow while placing sand. Good luck.

 

[spanko]

Another alternative is to get a pc. of PVC pipe long enough to reach the bottom. Put a funnel at the top and slowly pour the sand into the funnel directing the other end where you want the sand to go. Don't hurry and you will have only a small amount of sandstorm.

 

[vampofvegas]

PVC pipe cut to the right length & a funnel.
Lower PVC to bottom of tank, fill with wetsand using the funnel. You can pour some tank water into the funnel to help the sand go down the pipe. Then slowly lift the pvc pipe so the sand will come out of the pipe slowly to minimize sand storms. I've done this and its works very well.

 

[jamirlima]

Pavestone Pulverized Limestone is the best and they are cheap. Only available at home depot. Rinse it well before you add it in. Yeah use a PVC tube to pour into the tank