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Bare Bottom to Sand?
- Thread starter erics210
- Start date
I did it. I had a bare bottom for years. I wanted to clear the area for my new tank...which i still don't have. I even got desperate and called ACC, Major League Exotic Pets and Aquatic Obsession three weeks ago, No one is able to get shipments on 75 or 90g tanks. IM is waiting on glass which is coming from China, Well enough on that. ... When I moved my 40b from my office to the garage back in July I add my favorite sand ...from @Premiumaq Tropic Eden dry sand. It's the cleanest sand ever!. I added my rocks right back in and there was no sign of a cycle
erics210
NJRC Member
I was thinking...I have a 40 gallon breeder I was gonna take down, due to crack at overflow up top back. Maybe after my next water change I add the sand to the 40 breeder and get it to "cycle". during the weekly water changes I can take the change water and do a clean up of the sand tank.
Basically creating LIVE SAND.
Sound OK?
If not, option 2 would be add slowly over time.
Basically creating LIVE SAND.
Sound OK?
If not, option 2 would be add slowly over time.
If you're worried about a spike, I wouldn't sweat it.
I've done both bare bottom and sand. I prefer sand, looks nice, give the animals something to play in, etc...
I've always used special grade reef, aragonite based. I put it in a 5g bucket, fill it halfway with tap water, stir the c$%^ out of it, empty the waste.
Rinse, repeat till water is clear and all the little dead things are gone.
Then do a final rinse with RODI.
Have never seen a cycle from this and have done it many a time.
I've done both bare bottom and sand. I prefer sand, looks nice, give the animals something to play in, etc...
I've always used special grade reef, aragonite based. I put it in a 5g bucket, fill it halfway with tap water, stir the c$%^ out of it, empty the waste.
Rinse, repeat till water is clear and all the little dead things are gone.
Then do a final rinse with RODI.
Have never seen a cycle from this and have done it many a time.
If the sand is clean, you should not need to be worried about a cycle if you already have live rock. Cycling is really the buildup of bacterial sufficient to support the biological breakdown of ammonia and a working tank should already have this. However, if you use a silicon based sand you could get diatoms, so I agree with Mark, use aragonite.