"Installing" live sand and kick starting a cycle

[fatoldsun]

I've never started with live sand before and I had a question or two about setup. Currently I have all my livestock in a stock tank. I estimate that there's 80-100 gallons in there. Maybe on the lower end with rock displacement. My tank is plumbed and filled with new saltwater. If course it's not cycled or anything. I'm ready to add the sand and let it settle for a few days. Should I swap water from the stick tank first / or will the "live" sand not mind sterile water. The stock tank water is dirty. No mechanical filtration for 3 months. Just weekly water changes. I'm sure phosphates are through the roof. I have some green cyano or some other algae taking hold so I'm not sure I want to use much of the old water but I also don't want to wait for a cycle. 3 months has taken its toll on everything in the stock tank.
Option A. Add the sand to new saltwater and when it settles, add some base rock to kick start a cycle. Wait for a full cycle and them transfer
Option B. To expedite - Do a massive water change to the stock tank and use the discard water to make up for the NSW taken for the that change and deal with "cleaning" the water and getting parameters under control after. This will be more like a massive water change in the tank and should eliminate a cycle. Then add sand and some rock. Wait a few days and add the rest of the livestock.

 

[fatoldsun]

I should add, this is the sand I have.

 

[redfishbluefish]

Adding stock tank water will do nothing except contaminate your new water with high nitrates and phosphates. Very little bacteria is found in the water column. I'd add the sand and let it cycle. When done, start adding fish, etc.


Do you know the trick about using a pipe and funnel to add sand to a filled tank?

 

[fatoldsun]

I can make assumptions about a pipe & funnel Paul and I love a tip but this is wet live sand. Will the sand alone trigger the cycle?

 

[redfishbluefish]

Wet live sand is still not a problem…either use a big pipe or large mouth funnel.


And most likely you will see a mini cycle. I have always been amused by “live sand’ that has been sitting on the shelf of some LFS for 6 months plus. I can’t see how it could still be “live.”


Anyway, what you do is cut a PVC pipe a little longer then the depth of your tank. I use 1 ½ inch pipe because that is what I have….but 1 ½ or larger would work just fine. Put the pipe in your tank all the way to the bottom and fill it with sand. Here is where a funnel could help if it is a smaller pipe. Once the pipe is full, start to slightly lift the pipe to distribute the sand. Move the pipe around and continually fill it until you have the look you want. This will minimize a sand storm in your tank. It most likely will still get cloudy, but not as bad.

 

[mikem]

Option C. Buy a bottle of bio-spera and have an instant over and done with cycle.

 

[fatoldsun]

Paul. I'll give it a shot. Thanks for the tip - oh and 6 months... Ha!!

Thanks Mike. I'm gonna get a bottle. Just may take longer to get to an LFS than let it run its course. The way this week's gonna I could probably get it shipped faster...
[edit to add: 2 250 ml bottles will be here Friday - thanks amazon prime]

 

[dppitone]

The live sand sitting on the shelf is "live" with bacteria. The bacteria doesn't die in the bag. It's sitting there quietly or may have gone dormant. It takes extremes like heat, UV waves, anti-biotics, etc to kill bacteria. IMO it doesn't matter which option you do, they'll both work fine. But rather than waiting a few days and then adding your fish, you may want to instead test the levels and when they are right add the fish.