[MasterBlaster]

Is a good indicator of new sand becoming 'live' when it does not get cloudy/silty when you disturb it? (or at least, less so) Also, is it okay to add more live sand on top of an established live sand bed? Will the various stratified bacteria move to their new levels? Thanks.

[Ninong]

Originally Posted by MasterBlaster

Is a good indicator of new sand becoming 'live' when it does not get cloudy/silty when you disturb it? (or at least, less so) Also, is it okay to add more live sand on top of an established live sand bed? Will the various stratified bacteria move to their new levels? Thanks.

What size is your tank and what is the depth of your sand bed? Also, what is the compostion of the sand bed? That information would be helpful in advising you on your particular sand bed.

Follow this link to several good articles on sand beds: http://www.rshimek.com/reef/OnlineArticles.htm Just scroll down until you reach the topic, Sand Beds.

Any sand bed begins to acquire bacteria as soon as it is set up but the process of developing a full complement of bacteria takes a few months. It doesn't take that long for you to notice something, you will notice something within the first few days but the bacterial populations actually require about three months to become fully established. That is not the same thing as the sand bed infauna. Read the articles referenced above for a better understanding.

Additional live sand is always added on top. It's a good idea to spread it around so that you are not adding too thick a layer of new sand in any one spot.