Adding Sand...after the fact

J

jb61264

Member
I have had my BioCube 29 running for a good 6 months...I consolidated it down from my 40 breeder tank (don't ask why) which had been established for a good 6 months before that. I have probably around 50lbs of live rock. I have an CPR Aquatics SR3 that is running wonderfully since i installed it a week ago. All of my corals are thriving..I only have some easier corals currently (Anthelia, Zooanthid, Mushrooms, Open Brain, Tongue, ) but want to upgrade my light so I can do clams and acropora and other SPS.

I am considering adding sand (BioCube is currently barebottom) but want to know if there are any precautions I should take or if I should dump the idea altogether. My primary reason for want to add sand is visual and I would like to add a clam or two in the future (after I upgrade my lighting) and thought they would do best in a sandbed.

Is it okay to add sand even though I have live rock on a barebottom tank currently?

Any suggestions, thoughts, ideas would be appreciated.
 
lcstorc

lcstorc

Well-Known Member
I don't see any problem except the inevitable sand storm when you add it. I would turn off the pumps so things don't get all clogged up with sand.
Try adding the sand slowly. If you have room, put a small bowl upside down and pour the sand over it.
 
Z

ZAPCOnj

Active Member
when adding the sand you may want to do it "by the cup" and slowly pour the sand out in to the tank as close as possible to the bottom. that worked for me in the GF's old tank. I still had a dust storm but not nearly as much as when i dumped the bag in another tank i set up.
 
BigAl07

BigAl07

Administrator
RS STAFF
I did it on a SMALL tank using a PVC tube to contain it down through the water column. Took a while but didn't cause too much of an issue.
 
J

jb61264

Member
PVC tube...that is a great idea!...I will be giving that one a try...I'd rather take a long time and not have the dust cloud.

Could I also "rinse" the sand in some RO/DI refill water that I use for the tank?..would that also help (no doubt it wouldn't go down a PVC tube very well then...lol)
 
A

arizonagrace

Member
When I added sand, I didn't have pvc tube. I used a tube from an old undergravel filter. It was long enough to get it where I wanted, and small enough that I could control where the sand went.
 
ReefLady

ReefLady

Well-Known Member
Staff member
Here's what we did - I hope I can explain this well...

We used pvc, but attached the top half of a soda bottle to the end. Cut the top off a 2 ltr soda bottle, so you have the cap end, and a couple inches below that. Cut the cap hole so it's almost as large as the pvc tube. Attach pvc to that (I forget exactly how we attached it, I'm thinking some sort of tape).

You can then rest the flat, cut side of the bottle on the bottom of the tank, and pour the sand through the tube.

You're going to have a sand storm inevitably, but this does help some.
 
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