Live Sand

jimosburg

Member
Currently have 92 gallon corner with Crushed Coral. Getting 180 Lbs of Live Sand to create a deeper sand bed and lower my nitrates. Will adding all the new sand cause any problems. Should I keep any of the crushed coral, or get rid of it all. Thinking using cc in another tank.
 

chipmaker

Active Member
I would remove ALL crushed coral as if its covered over with sand it will work its way to the top and be exposed in short order. It will be an never ending chore, which you'll never win, to keep it covered. It can cause problems adding sand if there is any nutrients in it that can cause a cycle to initiate. YOU can however add a small amount at a time without any problems. Probbaly if the sand is reasonably alive, it will cause less problems than stirring up the CC bed.
 

lenny23

Member
So are you saying that if he buys the LS that comes in the bags (like the aragonite sand with bacteria) removes the CC and just puts the LS in his DT it will cause a cycle? I thought a cycle would only be caused if the LS or LR had some sort of die off which would not be the case if the sand is the bag bought stuff.
Please explain because I will be doing the same thing soon.
 

irondog

Member
justed changed out my cc this morning,took all lr out in rubbermaid bins with my water put livestock an inverts in a 10g tank with powerhead an heater scooped all cc out,then wet vac the rested i couldnt get,put in live sand,than place a glass bowl in middle of tank,started to add water in the bowl so all the sand wouldnt cloud up,put in half water,than added lr than rest off water an waited about 3 hours before i added livestock an inverts,after 3 hours was hardly any cloudiness,cheaked all reading an everything is perfect as of now,8:15pm tanks is cyrstal clear,also i added 5 nylon stockings fill with crush coral,not sure how long i should leave them if for,if anyone can help me out with that thanks guys
 

chipmaker

Active Member
Yes, its all possible to create a cycle, which will probably be a mini cycle, but a cycle stil the same. There is no telling how long that sand is laying around in that package and how it was shipped and stored. There is bound to be some dead stuff in that sand even if its wetpacked. And getting a mini short duration cycle is not out of the question.
 
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