brad65ford
New member
Hey guys, just wondering how bad of a shock will happening to the live stock since it just did this. Did the best I could cleaning out the sand but sadly i know i'm in for some type of bloom or ammonia spike of some type.
adding sand to a bare bottome system
- Thread starter brad65ford
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ChadRaay86
New member
If you think you cleaned it well, you can clean it again! 
Easiest way to add new sand is by taking a large PVC pipe sticking it on the bottom and dropping the sand in the tube. Its mess free
As for a spike, I wouldn't expect anything right away, but you tank's chemistry will certainly change over time as nutrients build up.
Why the switch?
Easiest way to add new sand is by taking a large PVC pipe sticking it on the bottom and dropping the sand in the tube. Its mess free As for a spike, I wouldn't expect anything right away, but you tank's chemistry will certainly change over time as nutrients build up.
Why the switch?
Dapg8gt
New member
I had the opposite lol.. That was the most solids I've ever had come out of any sand I've used. I cleaned a few gallons at a time and the water was milky almost the whole way. Took way longer than I anticipated.
I would say you shouldn't notice much especially if you only use a small amount and keep it clean..
echopiece
Member
Grrrrrr, you are absolutely right! I stand corrected - just checked the bag of sand I used and it was tropic eden reef flakes. I've used both in the past but found the reef flakes to be very clean!
brad65ford
New member
Thanks guys, I ended up cleaning it the best i could then added 1 cup at a time. It was a cloudy as expected also did a 1/4 WC. This morning its already 90 percent clearer.
Reason I'm adding sand is I'm having issues with this BB system for some reason. I've always run BB but never had a sump before. This time I finally can keep the displace clean unlike before so I really want a buffer and also denitrification of the sand. Since the system is small (20g) the original plan was to go skimmer-less and just keep the sump clean but I'm thinking I should run a skimmer.
Can anyone recommend a small in tank skimmer than can be in only 8" of water? I have a hydro slim skimmer but its designed for higher water levels.
Thanks again guys for your help!
Brad
Reason I'm adding sand is I'm having issues with this BB system for some reason. I've always run BB but never had a sump before. This time I finally can keep the displace clean unlike before so I really want a buffer and also denitrification of the sand. Since the system is small (20g) the original plan was to go skimmer-less and just keep the sump clean but I'm thinking I should run a skimmer.
Can anyone recommend a small in tank skimmer than can be in only 8" of water? I have a hydro slim skimmer but its designed for higher water levels.
Thanks again guys for your help!
Brad
brad65ford
New member
I have just doesn't look controllable but i could be wrong. Was looking at the Bubble Magus BM-NAC3.5 Cone Protein Skimmer but don't know much about it.
I used to be a sand replacer, but now I just vac it. When I did replace, I found that the wet stuff, while I doubt it is "alive" and all of that, is cleaner than dry, washes better and leaves minimal cloud. I used to pour it down a 3/4" PVC with a funnel on top. I used to add it at night and the tank was clear in the AM. A bit of filter floss would never hurt anything.
Tunze is a pretty decent skimmer for the problem... which is a hard problem to solve.
Tunze is a pretty decent skimmer for the problem... which is a hard problem to solve.
brad65ford
New member
Went with the NAC3.5, looking forward in running her soon. Thanks again guys for your advice.
Wonder how bad by bloom will be, so far the ammonia is at .25ppm which doesn't seem to bad. Funny how my alk dropped to 7.4 dhk from 8.4 just by adding the sand.
Wonder how bad by bloom will be, so far the ammonia is at .25ppm which doesn't seem to bad. Funny how my alk dropped to 7.4 dhk from 8.4 just by adding the sand.
glaukos
New member
I used CC brad which i cleaned very good prior to adding,so didn't have any cloudiness.
On the other hand it did caused a minor bacteria bloom which went away after a week(give or take).
Added it all at once,so maybe if i hadn't(maybe take it into,three or four parts) things would be different.
Regarding readings...
I didn't have any ammonia spike,alk did(like your case) dropped from 8 to 7,3,some days later NO3 went from 0 to 1-2(guess i burried some organisms) but after a WC went back to 0 and PH went from 8,2 to 8,4,but it dropped back to 8,2 after a couple of weeks.
Hope everything goes smooth:beer:
On the other hand it did caused a minor bacteria bloom which went away after a week(give or take).
Added it all at once,so maybe if i hadn't(maybe take it into,three or four parts) things would be different.
Regarding readings...
I didn't have any ammonia spike,alk did(like your case) dropped from 8 to 7,3,some days later NO3 went from 0 to 1-2(guess i burried some organisms) but after a WC went back to 0 and PH went from 8,2 to 8,4,but it dropped back to 8,2 after a couple of weeks.
Hope everything goes smooth:beer:
trueblackpercula
New member
I did exactly what you did 6 years ago. The only thing I found was a decline in Alk for the first couple months.
