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adding sand to a established system

pinner

pinner

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I have 200lbs of sand i need to add to a 300gal established system. How many pounds do u think i can safely add before it starts to effect the system. I have 400lbs of live rock and all my corals and few fish. There is currently no sand in system at all. I was thinking of adding 100lbs or may add it all since it is live sand and is new in the bag its not reused sand. what do u all think?
 
Can't see why it wouldn't be okay since it's live. Good luck. Probably best to go slow, like everything in this hobby, but I can't see why not
 
Idk, I think bagged "live sand" is gimmicki. I'd be careful, because unless it's under 24 hours old, you could be adding a bunch of ammonia to your tank, and if you don't have a ton of nitrifying bacteria because you have a smaller bioload, it could potentially kick start a mini cycle. I cycled my FW tank with a bag of "live sand" and there was so much ammonia in it, that it started the cycle and finished it no problem with out me having to add ammonia to keep the cycle going (this was before I added any fish).

How many bags is that? If it were me, I'd do a bag or two at a time. It may be a pita, and take a long time, but IMHO it's better to err on the side of caution. HTH
 
pinner said:
There are 10 twenty lb bags for a total of 200lbs, may just add 3 bags a week n go from there. Realy dont want loose any fish or corals.
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I don't blame you, I wouldn't want to either. I'd rather play it extremely safe instead of being horribly sorry. Only thing you waste is time being overly safe while on the other hand... haha ;)

Good luck!! Keep us posted!! :D
 
I replaced all my sand a few months ago in my 240G.
Adding new sand is no big deal, other than the dust that get everywhere.
Key for me was washing it really well, and then adding it very carefully, not just pouring it in.

While live sand is a bit of a rip-off, it seems to have a lot less dust.

Removing the old sand is a much bigger deal normally.
 
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