Adding sand to already mature sand bed

[PicassoTrigger]

right now i have only 1.5" sandbed and i believe that is one of the culprits to my slowly rising nitrate level. I am going to purchase 4 extra bags of aragamax today to add to my already live sand bed. The tank has been established over two years now and i have about 60lbs of LR.

My quesetion is what is the fastest, most efficient method at cleaning aragamax, the stuff is VERY messing/difficult to clean also, is it best to keep the sandbed level or should it slope toward the sides of the tank?

[ April 07, 2002: Message edited by: PicassoTrigger ]</p>

 

[rgardiner]

If your goal is to establish a conventional Deep Sand Bed (DSB), then you should not "clean" the aragamax, as this would eliminate much of the smallest diameter particles that form an important part of the DSB. Search threads on DSBs, and read articles by Ron Shimek.

 

[esmithiii]

I did not clean my SD sand (don't know how it compared to Aragamax) but remember that cleaning it gets rid of all the silt-sized particles which are very beneficial to the sand bed health.

It may cloud your tank for a while (1-2days) but mine cleared up in less than 24 hours, in spite of lots of water turnover. Expect your skimmer to go nuts!

Check out this link on how I changed my crushed shell to a DSB:

CC->DSB

I would add the additional sand to the top of the existing sand. Expect an algae bloom to follow, maybe even a small cycle as some of the life in your existing sand bed dies off. As for sloping, I would keep it mostly flat and shoot for 4 to 6 inches in most places.

Ernie

Ernie