Live sand in new refugium

[spoiledogz]

Hi!
I am about to put in my new sump/refugium. I have a question though...can I use new live sand or do I have to take from my DT? My DT could use a bit more so I thought I could get a new bag and after putting some in the fuge I could add to DT. Will my tank cycle? It's a 72 gallon and has been up for over a year.
Thoughts/advice??

Thanks!

 

[heartben]

i think in a situation like that youre supposed to wash the live sand with water change water (or new saltwater if you want to waste it...)
and add some every couple days or every week. i would think youd be able to add all new sand to the sump though, i think its mostly that you dont want to disturb the sand bed in the DT
i have a 55 and i added a whole 5 pound bag of LS after i washed it in water change water and there was no problem at all...
i added probably another good 8 pounds or so at once and once again.. no problems.
so its really up to you. im a rebel like that... hahaha. good luck!
-ben

 

[spoiledogz]

Thanks for the advice. I wasn't sure about washing it,, but I'll give that a try!

 

[earlybird]

Washing it could depelte it of any beneficial critters so I wouldn't do that. It's best to put it in a bucket with saltwater and a powerhead and test it to see if it spikes. When levels go down you can add it to your fuge.