Creating dsb

[tyrfing]

I have had a problem with purple algae on my sand bed. The only solution that has been posed to me is to convert my sb to a DSB. I have some SD sand coming, and my questions are:
1. Should I remove the purple algae before I add the additional sand, or just lay the new sand over the top?
2. Should I remove my fish before I add the sand (I have a way of adding the sand without stirring it up too much)
3. Should I try to layer the sand by pushing the existing sand aside and laying the new stuff as close to the bottom of the tank as possible? I ask this because when people are seeding sand beds they seem to reccomend laying in the argonite sand then laying live sand over the top.
Any other suggestions would be welcome.

 

[krusk]

ideally
death sand (south down) should be covered by live sand.

 

[puff(er) daddy]

I'm having a problem trying to get the purple(coralline algae) stuff. I guess I wouldn't want it on my substrate either.

 

[jwalters77]

I was under the impression that the red coraline algae was good to have...I have it along the back and some on the sandbed of my 55gal....I have read that it is the sign of a healthy system...Am I mistaken?? I kinda like the way it looks to

 

[striker]

I believe Tyrfing meant to say that he or she has the cyno algae which is a nuisance. This algae develops during the cycle and later disappears(unless there is a problem with overfeeding, tap water or lights). I had started out with cc but removed when the algae kept growing back and replaced it with ls. It would be better to scoop out the top layer that's growing on your substrate and replace the ls over the rest. There is no need to remove the fish from the tank when adding sand. Try to ease it in slowly to prevent prolonged clouding. It wpuld be better to put the actual ls over the new one. I've heard of people mixing the two but haven't done so myself.