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syphon with live sand?

9995 Views 15 Replies 7 Participants Last post by  caferacermike, 
J
I have only done water change since changing my substrate over to live sand last week. I did it by just scooping water out. I have a syphon hose like this http://www.drsfostersmith.com/Produ...ll&Ntx=mode+matchallpartial&Np=1&N=2004&Nty=1 left over from my freshwater setup.

Is it recommended to use this with live sand? I'm concerned that I would suck the good microbacteria out of the sand. Of course I would never use it to fill the tank with tap water.

Sorry if this is a dumb question. Thanks.
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absolutely do not stir live sand in reef. what happens if you do not have a very dense sand bed is you will get nitrate pockets buildups and if you aggitate the sand before the live sand can decompose it on its own it will all release into your system and that will mean the end of the system. Also make sure you have a lb of sand per gal. at least
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well i have a six and i know from past experience BAD IDEA.
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yeah i should have read his post closer, usually 1" sand beds are not common on reef.
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generally the rule of thumb is 1LB of sand to 1 Gallon of water. Now depending on the shape of your tank you may need to double that. Remember the thicker the bed of sand the finer that your sand particles should be so you dont make it possible for nitrate pockets.
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