To add sand or not to add sand??

[airbrnebkr]

My tank has been cycled for about a week. I currently have in my tank:
3 damsels
8 snails
10 hermits
live rock

my question is: now that I have started putting rock in my tank I am not happy with the depth of my sand. My friend gave me a brand new 15 lb bag of caribsand today and I was wondering if I could still add it now at this early stage of my tanks life. I was considering removing all the livestock and placing them in a 5 gallon bucket with my aquarium water, adding the well rinsed sand around the live rock, letting the sand settle and replacing the livestock. With 2 magnum 350 cannisters going, it generally only takes a few minutes to clear my tank but I wanted to get some opinions on this. thank you for your help.

Doug

[airbrnebkr]

BTT

[mogurnda]

It's probably a good time to change over to sand. Putting it on top of the gravel will just make a mess of things, so I'd pull it out.

You might consider doing it in stages. Remove 1/3 to 1/2 of the gravel, put down playsand and put the "live" sand on top of it. There are ways of using a scoop or large-bore tube to put the sand on the bottom with minimal mess.

[airbrnebkr]

I am sorry I should have been more clear. I already have good sand in the tank. I am just not happy with the depth and I wanted to put this sand on top of the other sand. Do you see a problem with that?

Doug

[mogurnda]

My fault. I had you mixed up with another member.Senior moment.

Your plan sounds good. You might even leave the occupants in.

[airbrnebkr]

Thanks for your help. I don't like to make any changes to my tank with out getting a little expert advice.
Doug

[Raki]

I did something similar about 6 weeks ago made a heck of a sand storm it was a few days before the tank cleared but the fishies and inverts came through just fine. So don't panic when it looks like you just made a milk shake in the tank. Keep a new turkey baster handy to "blow" loose sand off of the LR after the dust settles.:D