thinking of a deeper sandbed

T

tygerfifteen

Guest
I have a 1-2 inch sand bed right now of about half southdown half larger sized argonite.
I wanted to add about 2 more inches, i was wondering if I could just add the sand on top of the existing sand,I have some hair algae and some snails,fighting conches.
Would I cause damage by covering the(unwanted) hair algae?,like some die off?I was going to add a little at a time without moving the liverock.
tank is a 77 gallon with 150 lbs LR.reef, with about 8 corals.
thankx
 
dad

dad

Active Member
I think you would have no problems at all.
A 4" DSB would be a GREAT addition!
You can do a search here and find the best ways to add the sand. Good luck, ;)
 
hirock

hirock

Member
A quick question for the OP:
Why do you feel that two more inches of sand will help? The 1 - 2" you have presently should be sufficient in maintaining your system. I'm just curious, scratching my head, saying why...
As the previous poster stated, they are a time bomb waiting to go off!
If you want to cure the hair algae problem, nutrient exportation and limitation is the key.
:)
 
dad

dad

Active Member
Hummm, I will NOT get into a debate here about DSB's.
But a 4" to 6" DSB is the best thing for a reef tank. period
Siphon sand? Get real?
Like I said. I will not debate this.
This is my opinion. Take it or leave it, ;)
 
cmack

cmack

Member
I had about 2 inches of Southdown in my tank for a year, then ecided I wanted it deeper in some areas. I added more southdown on top of what was ther (hair algae and some cyano). The only problem was the cloudy water for about 2 days afterward. Get a length of PVC to dump the sand through, so you can direct it where you want it.
I also ended up getting a sand sifting star, and have not had any problems with algae on the sand bed since.
 
clarkiiboi

clarkiiboi

Active Member
What kind of sand are you going to use? If southdown or argonite I would cure it for a few weeks, there is a recent post on this. That said, after cured or if the bagged type at the LFS, only add a little at a time (giving critters a chance to get out and not over doing it). The PVC tube is a good idea, but the sand needs to be wet when going in, better in the long run--but if bagged LFS sand its already wet, just take some time and not add at 1 time --101 with sw nothing is fast or easy. HTH
 
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