Add New Sand To Refugium

[aquasport24]

Can i add new (play sand from home depot) to my old sand in the refugium. If yes, then where do i place it ? top, bottom,or mix them altogether...thx..Oh, my old sand is argonite..

[SoLiD]

NOOOOOOOOOOOOoooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo! !!!!! You will destroy the integrity of your aragonite. Play ground SAND contains TONS of silicates which will result in an ALGAE bloom and all kinds of unwanted problems. Just say no. I speak from experiance and I for one don't recommend it. Just save your money and buy more aragonite when you can. Then add it in after rinsing it out with RO\DI water to remove the fine power. If it is not rinsed out it will cloud up your water. -SoLiD

[aquasport24]

I thought that evrybody were using play sand in their refugium.

[SoLiD]

Yeah, that's what I thought originally, too.

[aquasport24]

i will take your advise, thx,,

[Ping]

Any time we disturb our sand beds in a large way we face the possibility of short term problems.

Its not the silicates that cause the Algea outbreaks, they contribute to diatom outbreaks. It is the decomposing of material bound to, or surrounding sand/mud that contributes to problems.

It takes upwards of three months for a new cycle to run its course after a large change to a sandbed. In this I am refering to the Micro life re-establishing a balance that directly affects the Nitrogen offgassing we are looking for.

The biggest detractor to non-calcium based sands is, they dont break down at the pH we attain in a deep sandbed. Grain size and cleanliness are the most important factors when establishing or adding material to a sand/mud bed.

Rinse really well with fresh water. Then soak for at least 24 hours in water change saltwater to establish a bio film on the particles that are going to be put into our system. This helps with the cloudiness and helps speed up the normal cycle of events in a sandbed.

[erikharrison]

Peter FTW!

[Bill S]

If you have a way to turn off flow to your fuge, you add small amounts at a time (after rinsing), and let it settle, then turn on flow. How much were you planning on adding?

[hobogato]

i agree, rinse the sand before adding it.

to add it, you can use a large diameter piece of pvc. cut it just long enough that it touches the sand bed and barely sticks out of the water. pour you sand in the pipe, and it will go straight to the bottom without clouding the water too much.

[aquasport24]

Wow, it is a good thing that i asked you guys first..