Adding sand to a cycled tank good / bad

[ewfyh]

what will the effects to my tank be if i add 4-5 bags of live sand to my tank(55gal-20 sump/fuge) increasing it to a 4-5" sand bed. will i get a nitrate/phos spike or will it be ok.what are the benefits, is it worth putting more sand on an established sand bed.

*few sps
zoas
various fish and invbertebates
CA 440ppm
dKH 11º
phos 0
ni 0
na 0
ph 8.2 8.3
sal- 1.024

 

[bertoni]

I would add the sand about 1/4" to 1/2" at a time, and wait a few weeks between additions. That'll give the animals in the sand, if any, time to move up. Otherwise, they'll likely die and become food for anaerobic decay.

 

[Avi]

Though you could probably do it all at once, I'd add a bag every other day, testing the water in between additions. It shouldn't be any problem at all for a tank that's a year old. But, there's a limited utility do adding it at all, IMO. Unless you're going to add enough to have a DSB, I wouldn't bother.

 

[Kribensis_2004]

Why are you going for a deep sand bed???
If the deep sand bed is just for the looks of sand in the aquarium, i would go with a layer of about 1 to 1.5 inches and keep it at that. And i would do that all at once.

If i were you (which i was at one point) i would put it all in at one time. That way nothing has time to grow on the layers and die when it gets covered up by the next.

 

[I'mRisenAquaRat]

NO! Definately do it slowwwwwly. There is alot of dead stuff in "live" sand. You will get a large NH4 spike if your existing bacteria (in your sand/rock) can't keep up.

 

[drummereef]

Why add "live sand"... You are much safer adding dry sand in small layers, 1/4th inch at a time, to avoid any ammonia spikes. The dry sand will become live in time. Add it slow and you'll have no issues.

 

[Buckeye Nut]

I added 40lbs of live sand with no spike of any kind and it has been 2 weeks. I think the sand will still be alive at 1 inch or 4 inches.