Adding substrate to an established tank

blackbear · 02/07/2020, 10:49 AM

So I started off my Nuvo 20 a few years ago and decided to have a bare bottom tank. No really sure why, i think i preferred the "clean" look that i thought it provided and i wouldn't have to worry about the sand getting dirty or flying around after a water change.

Fast forward a few years and now I don't really like it. There's always a little debris on the bottom of the tank anyways, so it always looks dirty and i feel like my cleanup crew would prefer some sort of sand or crushed coral on the bottom of the tank. Plus, it would help me place corals in the substrate rather than trying to glue them to the rock all the time.

Here's the question-- does anyone have experience adding substrate to an established tank? Will this cause a massive algae bloom? Are there ways to avoid that? Maybe I can add a little substrate in every week? Or should I do it all at once? Or maybe not at all? Is there a safe way to do this? I don't want to add a lot of substrate-- just enough to barely cover the bottom of the tank.

Any insights/help would be appreciated.

mcgyvr · 02/07/2020, 11:11 AM

Simply buy dry (not live) sand and rinse it well (repeat RINSE IT WELL.. multiple times) then add to the tank..
Putting it into a bag and sinking the bag and having the sand slowly slide out of the bag. That and the rinse WELL and all is good..
You may get a minor diatom bloom but it will pass. Nothing to worry about.

Avoid "Sugar Fine/oolite" as its often too fine and will just blow around from powerheads..
Something like "Caribsea special floor reef grade dry sand" or "Tropic Marin Reef Flakes" are great/commonly recommended..

The easiest way to rinse sand is to go outside and open a corner of the bag and stick your garden hose right down in there and just keep plunging it in/out of the sand and let the clouds/dust float to the top and overflow the bag.. Repeat until clear..

blackbear · 02/07/2020, 11:20 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mcgyvr

Simply buy dry (not live) sand and rinse it well (repeat RINSE IT WELL.. multiple times) then add to the tank..
Putting it into a bag and sinking the bag and having the sand slowly slide out of the bag. That and the rinse WELL and all is good..
You may get a minor diatom bloom but it will pass. Nothing to worry about.

Avoid "Sugar Fine/oolite" as its often too fine and will just blow around from powerheads..
Something like "Caribsea special floor reef grade dry sand" or "Tropic Marin Reef Flakes" are great/commonly recommended..

The easiest way to rinse sand is to go outside and open a corner of the bag and stick your garden hose right down in there and just keep plunging it in/out of the sand and let the clouds/dust float to the top and overflow the bag.. Repeat until clear..

Do you have any recommendations for black sand? I'm definitely leaning towards bigger grained substrate, but I also like the look of black substrate.

As for washing the substrate, should this be done with RODI water?

mcgyvr · 02/07/2020, 12:00 PM

No recommendations for black sand from me..

Use caution if wanting something like "Crushed coral" which tends to be very large grains that often just become a spot for "detritus" to collect and isn't as beneficial as a finer sand bed can be when looking at microfauna and lower oxygen environments for bacteria.

RODI water would be "best" but certainly not required..
I've always just used the garden hose to rinse (straight tap... not RODI) and never had a problem.

amutti · 02/08/2020, 10:12 PM

I always just use a pvc pipe and a funnel to deliver the sand to the bottom.

Dmorty217 · 02/09/2020, 01:56 PM

When I have done this, I take the whole bag and submerse it in the tank and open it underwater. It will still cloud the tank but not nearly as much if you were to dump it from the surface. Unless you add hundreds of pounds of sand I wouldn’t expect a nutrient spike resulting in any algae blooms

jerseyboy · 02/10/2020, 08:19 AM

no need to rinse at all. put it in a 2liter soda bottle fill with tank water and put the cap on. put the bottle in your tank upside down and remove cap. sand comes out and dirty water stays in bottle

foreverreef · 02/10/2020, 06:58 PM

The water bottle trick is amazing. I never thought to do that until I read it here just added some black sand to my 90 and it was simple with the 2 liter bottle. Small ranks like my 90 are so different from my big tank. My big tank I used pvc and just poured it in. It worked no problem but I had a bigger mess than with the bottle

clevername · 02/18/2020, 12:31 PM

id second the washing VERY WELL!

02/07/2020, 10:49 AM	#1
blackbear Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Toronto, Canada Posts: 89	Adding substrate to an established tank So I started off my Nuvo 20 a few years ago and decided to have a bare bottom tank. No really sure why, i think i preferred the "clean" look that i thought it provided and i wouldn't have to worry about the sand getting dirty or flying around after a water change. Fast forward a few years and now I don't really like it. There's always a little debris on the bottom of the tank anyways, so it always looks dirty and i feel like my cleanup crew would prefer some sort of sand or crushed coral on the bottom of the tank. Plus, it would help me place corals in the substrate rather than trying to glue them to the rock all the time. Here's the question-- does anyone have experience adding substrate to an established tank? Will this cause a massive algae bloom? Are there ways to avoid that? Maybe I can add a little substrate in every week? Or should I do it all at once? Or maybe not at all? Is there a safe way to do this? I don't want to add a lot of substrate-- just enough to barely cover the bottom of the tank. Any insights/help would be appreciated.

02/07/2020, 11:11 AM	#2
mcgyvr Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: North Carolina Posts: 20,050	Simply buy dry (not live) sand and rinse it well (repeat RINSE IT WELL.. multiple times) then add to the tank.. Putting it into a bag and sinking the bag and having the sand slowly slide out of the bag. That and the rinse WELL and all is good.. You may get a minor diatom bloom but it will pass. Nothing to worry about. Avoid "Sugar Fine/oolite" as its often too fine and will just blow around from powerheads.. Something like "Caribsea special floor reef grade dry sand" or "Tropic Marin Reef Flakes" are great/commonly recommended.. The easiest way to rinse sand is to go outside and open a corner of the bag and stick your garden hose right down in there and just keep plunging it in/out of the sand and let the clouds/dust float to the top and overflow the bag.. Repeat until clear.. __________________ Who me?

02/07/2020, 12:00 PM	#4
mcgyvr Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: North Carolina Posts: 20,050	No recommendations for black sand from me.. Use caution if wanting something like "Crushed coral" which tends to be very large grains that often just become a spot for "detritus" to collect and isn't as beneficial as a finer sand bed can be when looking at microfauna and lower oxygen environments for bacteria. RODI water would be "best" but certainly not required.. I've always just used the garden hose to rinse (straight tap... not RODI) and never had a problem. __________________ Who me?

02/09/2020, 01:56 PM	#6
Dmorty217 Saltwater Addict Join Date: Jan 2012 Location: Vandalia OHIO Posts: 11,624	When I have done this, I take the whole bag and submerse it in the tank and open it underwater. It will still cloud the tank but not nearly as much if you were to dump it from the surface. Unless you add hundreds of pounds of sand I wouldn’t expect a nutrient spike resulting in any algae blooms __________________ Fish are not disposable commodities, but a worthwhile investment that can be maintained and enjoyed for many years, providing one is willing to take the time to understand their requirements and needs Current Tank Info: 625g, 220g sump, RD3 230w, Vectra L1 on a closed loop, 3 MP60s, MP40. Several QTs

02/10/2020, 06:58 PM	#8
foreverreef Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Underwater Posts: 309	The water bottle trick is amazing. I never thought to do that until I read it here just added some black sand to my 90 and it was simple with the 2 liter bottle. Small ranks like my 90 are so different from my big tank. My big tank I used pvc and just poured it in. It worked no problem but I had a bigger mess than with the bottle __________________ Hi my name is Ken, and i'm a reef addict... my wife told me size mattered...I'm not sure 1000+gallons of salt water is what she meant! Current Tank Info: 1000g display LEDs. Refugium and a few other goodeis

02/08/2020, 10:12 PM	#5
amutti Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: MA Posts: 357	I always just use a pvc pipe and a funnel to deliver the sand to the bottom.

02/10/2020, 08:19 AM	#7
jerseyboy Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2014 Posts: 53	no need to rinse at all. put it in a 2liter soda bottle fill with tank water and put the cap on. put the bottle in your tank upside down and remove cap. sand comes out and dirty water stays in bottle

02/18/2020, 12:31 PM	#9
clevername Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Manchester, MO Posts: 1,125	id second the washing VERY WELL!