Adding sand to a barebottom ??????

[unclemuskie]

Hello all I am getting tired of the barebottom look and am going to be adding about a 2 inch layer of fine/coarse mixture of ESV sand.My question is with a stocked tank of fish and corals will the tank have a cycle or will all the live rock eliminate it.Any replies would be greatly appreciated.

ps. what about adding it a little at a time ???????????

 

[rogergolf66]

Well if you can add a few cups everyother day then I don't think you will see any cycle but if you where to add 20 LBS at a time or so im sure you would get some cycle but it should be short and quick

 

[stingythingy45]

I would just add half and then the other half the next day(just for cloudy water issues).
I did this on my 55 gallon when I first set up.It sat for a week with really good LR in it bought from a fellow reefer.Then I added my LR from my 20 gallon from which I was upgrading along with the live sand.So yes,the rock alone can provide enough biological filtration until the sandbed becomes live.

 

[Akaash]

Shouldn't cause a cycle at all. Just water cloudyness issues. If you were switching substrate I'd expect to see a cycle. But you're only removing water to make room for the substrate. Rinse the substrate really well, and add half and half like Stingythingy said. The only other thing I would suggest is to skip your water change this week (assuming you do weekly) so that you're not removing too much water - which could cause a cycle.

 

[billsreef]

You shouldn't get any sort of noticeable cycle. The idea of adding only a bit at a time is spot on. Since your shooting for two inches, adding half will work. After that first half, give it about a week for the buried layer of rock to adjust, than go for the second half. You'll get a nice cloud when you add the sand, but don't worry about it. It won't really bother anything other than you, and will settle out clear in a few days or so