Adding Sand

[votek]

I setup my tanks with CC bases as I was planning on fish only, but since I've been getting much better and smarter about taking care of my tanks, I'd like to put some sand in.

Theres about a 2 inch layer of CC in each tank. The 10g is a coarse grain and the 20g is a medium-fine grain. I'd like to get a mix of sand and CC in there, but there are a few things halting me from just going out and doing it.

1) I realize the dust won't last as long as the CC dust did, but will it hurt the fish?

2) Will I be fine without the sand? I usualy do a 15-20% water change every weekend while vac'ing the CC. This past weekend I noticed that the worm population in the gravel is getting to a nice level - not too many, but a good show that they are there.

So....
Do I need to add sand? Should I?
Will it hurt the fish?
Will it disrupt the bottom micro-environment? (worms)

Thanks.

 

[OrionGirl]

If you go with sand, the best way is to remove the CC and replace it. I don't know what will happen if you mix it, though you will not be able to vaccum deeply with sand. The primary purpose of using sand is to create a deep environment with little water movement and very low oxygen. Nitrate consuming bacteria populate this region, meaning you have lower nitrates without increased water changes.

The sand dust won't hurt the fish. If you have coral, it will annoy them, but a few days of dust won't kill fish. Storms create much cloudier conditions in nature.

HTH

 

[glc]

I would add that you should do a good rinsing of the sand before you put it in your tank. This will help reduce the amount of dust that you will see. Also a little trick I like to do is to take my sand bed vacuum tube and poor the sand down the tube directly to the bottom of the tank. This will also reduce the amount of dust you create.

Thanx G.L.C

 

[OrionGirl]

Actually, you don't want to rinse the sand. The point of using sand versus crushed coral is that you get an increased surface area available for bacteria to colonize as the particle size decreases. So washing away the smallest particles is counter productive.

I recommend pulling everything out of the tank, then adding the sand, and adding the water back slowly, pouring it onto a plate or bowl, so it slowly wets the sand and fills in on top. We used this method on several tanks, and have never had a problem.

 

[glc]

If you are going to establish a new tank that method would be fine but IMO the sand that you purchace (or collect) is (for lack of a better word) nasty. There is no telling what you are dumping into your tank.

I have mixed crushed coral and sand in the passed with good results. In the wild the sand is not just one size it varies greatly. Much more so than in most tanks. I try to use as much diversity in size as possible. Over time "most" of the smaller particles will work there way to the bottom leaving "most" of the larger on top. This creates the anoxic zones below, allows travel through the substrate for a diverse group of critters and with the larger size substrate on top your current will not blow your sand all around the tank. Something you will experience a little more going to the smaller substrate. This will also allow you to keep the critters you have already established in your sand bed.

"So....
Do I need to add sand? Should I?

If you are cleaning that often you will not "need" to add the sand. Should you..........????? Either way would be O.K. I like the look of sand over CC but thats just me. There are advantages to sand but I dont believe any of them would really apply to your set up.

Will it hurt the fish?
Well it wont be good for them but like OrionGirl said they are used to a lot worse in the wild. My suggested method above will help reduce the stress though.

Will it disrupt the bottom micro-environment? (worms)"
If you add the sand slowly a little at a time it should have little or no effect on your bottom dwellers.

A 10 gal saltwater tank is very difficult to maintain water perameters. Have you ever thought about moving up?

Thanx G.L.C

 

[bucfan]

i just added sand to my tank. cloudy as all hell but from what some of you have said above, the fish should be ok. It looks like its going to take a while before the cloudiness goes away but hopefully not too long. I cant see much of anything in there.