adding more sand

[purpletangNH]

I could use some pointers on adding additional sand to my tank. 

[mitten_reef]

21 minutes ago, purpletangNH said:

I could use some pointers on adding additional sand to my tank. 

depending on where your tank is now, maturity/stability/issues, that'd likely dictate how much you can add at once.  you can safely add a few cups a day, until it reaches the sand depth you want.  if you sand has issues such as algae, diatom, cyano, etc, adding new sand on top isn't likely going to mitigate your problem, fyi.  you just have to wait for those things to go thru their phases.  

picture of current sand?

 

 

[jservedio]

Wash the sand thoroughly in a bucket with a hose or on your tub. Dump into your tank one scoop at a time using your hand or a beach shovel. Use a turkey baster to clean off rocks and coral you made a mess of. Maybe run some filter floss to catch any fine particles.

[purpletangNH]

should I wash it with RO?

[jservedio]

4 minutes ago, purpletangNH said:

should I wash it with RO?

I wash it with tap water in a 5g bucket very thoroughly to get out all the fines. Then I swish it around in like a gallon of RODI for a few minutes if it's going into an already running tank. When going into a new tank I don't bother.

 

Definitely what @mitten_reef said though - if you are adding a lot of sand you want to do it in batches. I vacuum my sand and it's only 1/4" - 1/2" deep so I get bare spots constantly and generally am never adding more than 6-8 cups at a time. Make sure your sandbed is clean before adding more on top.