Adding sand to existing Tank

[Dr RBG]

I have a 100-gallon reefer tank. It is about 6 weeks old. has live rock and sand, and it has a bunch of snails 2 fighting conch 2 clowns and 6 blue Chromis. The sand is a little thin so I was thinking of adding to it with the same live sand originally put in. I am concerned the water will cloud up temporally. Will this harm the fish or other things in the tank? Should I rinse the sand? Should tap water, RO?DI or salt water be used? :worried:

 

[AlSimmons]

Just place the sand in clean bucket and give it a good rinse with the hose. Once this is done you can go ahead and add it to the tank. Try to remove as much of that water from the sand first though.

 

[FullBoreReefer]

When I changed out sand, I used a piece of 1.5" pvc tube cut long enough to reach the bottom but also stick above water far enough to hold onto, and a large funnel. This will help you place the sand where you want it and cut down on SOME of the dust. If not, sand will be EVERYWHERE

 

[thegrun]

Since it is live sand rinse it with saltwater (another one of the draw backs of live sand). You could make a water change and use the old water as a rinse, although to get most of the fines (dust) out it takes a lot of water and rinsing.

 

[AlSimmons]

Woops, missed the live sand part above. Being that your tank has already cycled though I don't think it really matters whether you rinsed the sand in freshwater or saltwater. I'm assuming this is the live sand in a bag? It's not like this stuff is teaming with life or anything and the beneficial bacteria is already present in your tank. If you haven't added the live sand yet you might want to consider dry sand instead. You'll be able to save a few bucks and basically achieve the same results.

 

[Dr RBG]

Thanks