fishstick4sale
Member
theres really no telling, just test your water for ammonia simple if u have nothing then your good if u have something do water change thats all
just added some sand...
- Thread starter salt life
- Start date
salt life
Active Member
Originally Posted by fishstick4sale
http:///forum/post/2984066
theres really no telling, just test your water for ammonia simple if u have nothing then your good if u have something do water change thats all
I still don't understand what your trying to say? the sand is DEAD DRIED OUT, there is no ammonia source or any dead matter in it, so where would I get a spike?
Spanko, the fuge and new DT are both bare bottom, I added the dried sand to the fuge and the other 20 pounds im gonna add to the fuge till I get a 4 inch sand bed then throw the rest in the BB DT, my other DT that has been established for over 2 years, has like a 2 inch sand bed in it.
http:///forum/post/2984066
theres really no telling, just test your water for ammonia simple if u have nothing then your good if u have something do water change thats all
I still don't understand what your trying to say? the sand is DEAD DRIED OUT, there is no ammonia source or any dead matter in it, so where would I get a spike?
Spanko, the fuge and new DT are both bare bottom, I added the dried sand to the fuge and the other 20 pounds im gonna add to the fuge till I get a 4 inch sand bed then throw the rest in the BB DT, my other DT that has been established for over 2 years, has like a 2 inch sand bed in it.
sepulatian
Moderator
I think, fishstick please correct me if I am wrong, that he is referring to adding all of the sand at once to the top of your sand bed. If you have a heavy bioload, little rock, and cover all of your sand, then you would be covering a large part of your biological bacteria. I don't think that is what you are doing though, correct?
salt life
Active Member
Originally Posted by sepulatian
http:///forum/post/2984148
I think, fishstick please correct me if I am wrong, that he is referring to adding all of the sand at once to the top of your sand bed. If you have a heavy bioload, little rock, and cover all of your sand, then you would be covering a large part of your biological bacteria. I don't think that is what you are doing though, correct?
correct, my fuge and the newer DT were both BB, the fuge now has 4 inches of sand in it, and the newer DT I put the rest of the sand in there but it is just a little pile... the dead sand was not put over any established sand or anything, just to a bb fuge with some chaeto in it.
http:///forum/post/2984148
I think, fishstick please correct me if I am wrong, that he is referring to adding all of the sand at once to the top of your sand bed. If you have a heavy bioload, little rock, and cover all of your sand, then you would be covering a large part of your biological bacteria. I don't think that is what you are doing though, correct?
correct, my fuge and the newer DT were both BB, the fuge now has 4 inches of sand in it, and the newer DT I put the rest of the sand in there but it is just a little pile... the dead sand was not put over any established sand or anything, just to a bb fuge with some chaeto in it.
salt life
Active Member
Originally Posted by tnt0401
http:///forum/post/2983671
what kinda dead dry sand did you use? I want a sand bottom for my new tank and was thinking play ground sand or beach sand that I went to the beach to get.
play sand from homedepot/lowes is usually silica based which will give you cyano problems and other issues. I was considering getting sand from the beach and just rinsing the heck out of it then laying it out to dry in the sun for a couple of days. some said it would be ok some said don't risk it...
the bags I got were 20# bag for 16.99 so I just went with that and played it safe, I would still look into the beach sand for future tanks, maybe do it on a smaller experiment tank and see what the effects are
http:///forum/post/2983671
what kinda dead dry sand did you use? I want a sand bottom for my new tank and was thinking play ground sand or beach sand that I went to the beach to get.
play sand from homedepot/lowes is usually silica based which will give you cyano problems and other issues. I was considering getting sand from the beach and just rinsing the heck out of it then laying it out to dry in the sun for a couple of days. some said it would be ok some said don't risk it...
the bags I got were 20# bag for 16.99 so I just went with that and played it safe, I would still look into the beach sand for future tanks, maybe do it on a smaller experiment tank and see what the effects are
sepulatian
Moderator
Originally Posted by Salt Life
http:///forum/post/2984162
correct, my fuge and the newer DT were both BB, the fuge now has 4 inches of sand in it, and the newer DT I put the rest of the sand in there but it is just a little pile... the dead sand was not put over any established sand or anything, just to a bb fuge with some chaeto in it.
That will be perfectly fine.
http:///forum/post/2984162
correct, my fuge and the newer DT were both BB, the fuge now has 4 inches of sand in it, and the newer DT I put the rest of the sand in there but it is just a little pile... the dead sand was not put over any established sand or anything, just to a bb fuge with some chaeto in it.
That will be perfectly fine.
flower
Well-Known Member
Originally Posted by lil.guppy
http:///forum/post/2983547
I added about 4-6 cups of new sand to my 46g tank and it screwed everything up
Hi lil.guppy,
I was following your thread where you had problems. I thought that you stirred up the old stuff to add the new, if that's the case it was the stirring things up that created your problem.
Adding extra sand shouldn't do any harm except cloudy water till everything settles. I am no expert by any means. However I added 10 pounds of(live) sand to a 75g tank for a deeper sand bed. About year ago with no ill effects.
http:///forum/post/2983547
I added about 4-6 cups of new sand to my 46g tank and it screwed everything up
Hi lil.guppy,
I was following your thread where you had problems. I thought that you stirred up the old stuff to add the new, if that's the case it was the stirring things up that created your problem.
Adding extra sand shouldn't do any harm except cloudy water till everything settles. I am no expert by any means. However I added 10 pounds of(live) sand to a 75g tank for a deeper sand bed. About year ago with no ill effects.
salt life
Active Member
stdreb27
Active Member
Originally Posted by sepulatian
http:///forum/post/2983688
I think that some folks may be confused as to what actually "cycles" the tank. You must have an ammonia source to begin a cycle. Dry sand will have no dead or decaying matter on it so it will not cause the tank to cycle. The tank will get cloudy, that is just the very small particles of sand in the water column. It will settle and the very small particles will be filtered out. The eels will be fine. You can test your water to be sure that it is fine. Make up a batch of water just in case, but it should be fine.
Ok maybe I'm missing something here. But if you are adding sand to a tank from the sea. (Like argonite) won't that have dead matter on it, even if it is completely dry?
But look if you've already added a 20 lb bag to the sump, did you see a spike in ammonia? If you didn't, then go ahead and add the sand to the DT. If you did, then just cycle your sand like you'd do LR.
http:///forum/post/2983688
I think that some folks may be confused as to what actually "cycles" the tank. You must have an ammonia source to begin a cycle. Dry sand will have no dead or decaying matter on it so it will not cause the tank to cycle. The tank will get cloudy, that is just the very small particles of sand in the water column. It will settle and the very small particles will be filtered out. The eels will be fine. You can test your water to be sure that it is fine. Make up a batch of water just in case, but it should be fine.
Ok maybe I'm missing something here. But if you are adding sand to a tank from the sea. (Like argonite) won't that have dead matter on it, even if it is completely dry?
But look if you've already added a 20 lb bag to the sump, did you see a spike in ammonia? If you didn't, then go ahead and add the sand to the DT. If you did, then just cycle your sand like you'd do LR.
aquaknight
Active Member
Originally Posted by stdreb27
http:///forum/post/2984923
Ok maybe I'm missing something here. But if you are adding sand to a tank from the sea. (Like argonite) won't that have dead matter on it, even if it is completely dry?
But look if you've already added a 20 lb bag to the sump, did you see a spike in ammonia? If you didn't, then go ahead and add the sand to the DT. If you did, then just cycle your sand like you'd do LR.
No. There is a difference between decaying and decayed. Stuff that is in those "live sand" bags are still rotting away. Dry sand, in theory, only contains stuff that rotted fully. For example, animals die and continue to breakdown till there's only a skeleton. "Live sand" has a couple corpses in it, and dry sand only has skeletons.
Skeletons are inert, so they won't effect your tank.
http:///forum/post/2984923
Ok maybe I'm missing something here. But if you are adding sand to a tank from the sea. (Like argonite) won't that have dead matter on it, even if it is completely dry?
But look if you've already added a 20 lb bag to the sump, did you see a spike in ammonia? If you didn't, then go ahead and add the sand to the DT. If you did, then just cycle your sand like you'd do LR.
No. There is a difference between decaying and decayed. Stuff that is in those "live sand" bags are still rotting away. Dry sand, in theory, only contains stuff that rotted fully. For example, animals die and continue to breakdown till there's only a skeleton. "Live sand" has a couple corpses in it, and dry sand only has skeletons.
stdreb27
Active Member
Originally Posted by AquaKnight
http:///forum/post/2984928
No. There is a difference between decaying and decayed. Stuff that is in those "live sand" bags are still rotting away. Dry sand, in theory, only contains stuff that rotted fully. For example, animals die and continue to breakdown till there's only a skeleton. "Live sand" has a couple corpses in it, and dry sand only has skeletons.
Skeletons are inert, so they won't effect your tank.
So you can say that all the organic matter on there has completely decayed and nothing is left? I don't buy that. unless they somehow cook rinse then dry the sand before shipment...
Another thing you can do is grab a handful of sand, wet it. If it smells like dead fish or rot, then you need to cycle it.
But again, if you've already dropped a 20 pound bag in the qt, and didn't have an ammonia spike then don't worry about it.
http:///forum/post/2984928
No. There is a difference between decaying and decayed. Stuff that is in those "live sand" bags are still rotting away. Dry sand, in theory, only contains stuff that rotted fully. For example, animals die and continue to breakdown till there's only a skeleton. "Live sand" has a couple corpses in it, and dry sand only has skeletons.
So you can say that all the organic matter on there has completely decayed and nothing is left? I don't buy that. unless they somehow cook rinse then dry the sand before shipment...
Another thing you can do is grab a handful of sand, wet it. If it smells like dead fish or rot, then you need to cycle it.
But again, if you've already dropped a 20 pound bag in the qt, and didn't have an ammonia spike then don't worry about it.
aquaknight
Active Member
Originally Posted by stdreb27
http:///forum/post/2984932
So you can say that all the organic matter on there has completely decayed and nothing is left? I don't buy that. unless they somehow cook rinse then dry the sand before shipment...
Another thing you can do is grab a handful of sand, wet it. If it smells like dead fish or rot, then you need to cycle it.
But again, if you've already dropped a 20 pound bag in the qt, and didn't have an ammonia spike then don't worry about it.
Sure it is. Considering really the only things that are in the sand to rot are fauna, just drying the sand is typically more then enough.
I believe most dry sands are at least sifted. I've never noticed getting snail shells, etc in dry sand, but there's always a bunch of random things in the 'live' stuff...
http:///forum/post/2984932
So you can say that all the organic matter on there has completely decayed and nothing is left? I don't buy that. unless they somehow cook rinse then dry the sand before shipment...
Another thing you can do is grab a handful of sand, wet it. If it smells like dead fish or rot, then you need to cycle it.
But again, if you've already dropped a 20 pound bag in the qt, and didn't have an ammonia spike then don't worry about it.
Sure it is. Considering really the only things that are in the sand to rot are fauna, just drying the sand is typically more then enough.
I believe most dry sands are at least sifted. I've never noticed getting snail shells, etc in dry sand, but there's always a bunch of random things in the 'live' stuff...
socal57che
Active Member
Originally Posted by spanko
http:///forum/post/2984938
Must be a slow day in the aquarium for you guys to be getting into this kind of discussion!
https://www.saltwaterfish.com/vb/showthread.php?t=353107
http:///forum/post/2984938
Must be a slow day in the aquarium for you guys to be getting into this kind of discussion!
https://www.saltwaterfish.com/vb/showthread.php?t=353107
salt life
Active Member
Originally Posted by stdreb27
http:///forum/post/2984923
Ok maybe I'm missing something here. But if you are adding sand to a tank from the sea. (Like argonite) won't that have dead matter on it, even if it is completely dry?
But look if you've already added a 20 lb bag to the sump, did you see a spike in ammonia? If you didn't, then go ahead and add the sand to the DT. If you did, then just cycle your sand like you'd do LR.
checked the day after I added the first 20#'s, no ammo or trites, added the second bag yesterday, gonna let things settle down and then test it again
http:///forum/post/2984923
Ok maybe I'm missing something here. But if you are adding sand to a tank from the sea. (Like argonite) won't that have dead matter on it, even if it is completely dry?
But look if you've already added a 20 lb bag to the sump, did you see a spike in ammonia? If you didn't, then go ahead and add the sand to the DT. If you did, then just cycle your sand like you'd do LR.
checked the day after I added the first 20#'s, no ammo or trites, added the second bag yesterday, gonna let things settle down and then test it again
socal57che
Active Member
IMO, there is not enough organic material left in dry aragonite to cause any significant elevation in ammonia levels. This, coupled with the fact that you rinsed it twice, leads me to believe that you will see no increase whatsoever...maybe some cloudiness, but not ammonia. I've added sand on several occasions (Live and dry; some without rinsing at all) and have never seen ammonia increase.
To add, you had a BB. You are not covering up an active sand bed, nor are you stirring up trapped waste/nitrates.
Has anyone mentioned diatoms???
To add, you had a BB. You are not covering up an active sand bed, nor are you stirring up trapped waste/nitrates.
Has anyone mentioned diatoms???
fishstick4sale
Member
some people do this add sand thats been cleaned and dried out for a few days to weeks and when added im assuming it stirs up the gunk and old stuff from the existing sand and it spikes it or it sends a cloud into your tank. theres a few threads in here about people adding sand and spiking their ammonia but i think they just dump the sand in not knowing what their doing, i just said test water perams after an if all good then u did a smooth job. didnt mean to start a huge discussion about what might happen lol.
salt life
Active Member
Originally Posted by fishstick4sale
http:///forum/post/2985005
some people do this add sand thats been cleaned and dried out for a few days to weeks and when added im assuming it stirs up the gunk and old stuff from the existing sand and it spikes it or it sends a cloud into your tank. theres a few threads in here about people adding sand and spiking their ammonia but i think they just dump the sand in not knowing what their doing, i just said test water perams after an if all good then u did a smooth job. didnt mean to start a huge discussion about what might happen lol.
no worries, checked my levels and everything was right on point. idk if I made it clear enough that the fuge and new dt were BB to begin with, so my bad if that was the case. no sand was added on top of existing sand nor did I mix up any establish sand to add the new sand.
thank you everyone for clearing it up and helping me out with this. hopefully others who are looking to add sand learned something through your explanations.
http:///forum/post/2985005
some people do this add sand thats been cleaned and dried out for a few days to weeks and when added im assuming it stirs up the gunk and old stuff from the existing sand and it spikes it or it sends a cloud into your tank. theres a few threads in here about people adding sand and spiking their ammonia but i think they just dump the sand in not knowing what their doing, i just said test water perams after an if all good then u did a smooth job. didnt mean to start a huge discussion about what might happen lol.
no worries, checked my levels and everything was right on point. idk if I made it clear enough that the fuge and new dt were BB to begin with, so my bad if that was the case. no sand was added on top of existing sand nor did I mix up any establish sand to add the new sand.
thank you everyone for clearing it up and helping me out with this. hopefully others who are looking to add sand learned something through your explanations.
socal57che
Active Member
Originally Posted by Salt Life
http:///forum/post/2985012
no worries, checked my levels and everything was right on point. idk if I made it clear enough that the fuge and new dt were BB to begin with, so my bad if that was the case. no sand was added on top of existing sand nor did I mix up any establish sand to add the new sand.
thank you everyone for clearing it up and helping me out with this. hopefully others who are looking to add sand learned something through your explanations.
The only thing I think you could expect is a diatom bloom. Good thing you came down to the aquarium for some solid advice.
http:///forum/post/2985012
no worries, checked my levels and everything was right on point. idk if I made it clear enough that the fuge and new dt were BB to begin with, so my bad if that was the case. no sand was added on top of existing sand nor did I mix up any establish sand to add the new sand.
thank you everyone for clearing it up and helping me out with this. hopefully others who are looking to add sand learned something through your explanations.
The only thing I think you could expect is a diatom bloom. Good thing you came down to the aquarium for some solid advice.
fishstick4sale
Member
thats one thread we were helping with.
https://www.saltwaterfish.com/vb/showthread.php?t=352784
https://www.saltwaterfish.com/vb/showthread.php?t=352784