Adding sand to an established aquarium

[m1a1fan]

Hi everyone,

I was curious to find out if it's possible to add sand to an already established aquarium. My 55 gallon tank has been up and running for about a year now and contains 30LBS of crushed coral and about 65 LBS of live rock.

When I started my tank, it was a FOWLR setup but as my interests grew (we all know how this is) I began adding a few corals and now I'd like to add some sand for some stars and other sand dwelling creatures.

I was looking at live sand from Tampa Bay Saltwater.

I'm not sure if this is possible and if it is, will it be to big of a mess to want to deal with. Also, what is the rule of thumb for the sand (how many LBS per gallon and such).

I'd certainly appreciate input from anyone who has done something like this and any tips they may have!

Thanks!
Ryan

[racrumrine]

There have been several threads on this topic. I suggest you do a search on New to Hobby, Reef Discussion, and Ask Dr Ron Forums.

If you want to do a complete change out, you might want to transfer all your livestock to a Quarantine tank during the process. Disturbing the substrate tends to put a lot of stress on the fish. Having the livestock in another tank allows you to work more freely.

Best of luck,

Roy

[m1a1fan]

/\Bump/\

[120bamaguy]

I agree with Roy, i put a DSB in my 125 last April. I took everything out into containers. I added my sand then the rock work and water. 5 days later i added my livestock back into the tank. No losses occured.

[crawfish]

Ryan, I recently added about an inch of sand to my established 58-gallon tank. I did it during a water change to minimize impact to the system. I put the sand in a ziplock bag and then added saltwater to the bag to cover the sand. As I closed the bag, I let as much of the air escape as possible. I turned off all of the circulation in the tank, then lowered the bag into the tank and got it as close to the bottom as I could. Then I unzipped the bag and poured the sand out. The sand went right to the bottom with very little clouding. I used a gallon ziplock and filled it (about 1/2 to 3/4 full of sand) a couple of times before I had built the bed up to where I wanted it. I waited a while after I finished the water change before I turned the pumps back on, just to let it settle some more. Once I turn the powerheads back on, the residual clouding disappeared very quickly. Good luck.

[crawfish]

Ryan, I recently added about an inch of sand to my established 58-gallon tank. I did it during a water change to minimize impact to the system. I put the sand in a ziplock bag and then added saltwater to the bag to cover the sand. As I closed the bag, I let as much of the air escape as possible. I turned off all of the circulation in the tank, then lowered the bag into the tank and got it as close to the bottom as I could. Then I unzipped the bag and poured the sand out. The sand went right to the bottom with very little clouding. I used a gallon ziplock and filled it (about 1/2 to 3/4 full of sand) a couple of times before I had built the bed up to where I wanted it. I waited a while after I finished the water change before I turned the pumps back on, just to let it settle some more. Once I turn the powerheads back on, the residual clouding disappeared very quickly. Good luck.