Question: When should live sand or other substrate be added to an aquarium?
The big question when adding live sand or other substrate media to a saltwater aquarium is, do you put it into the tank "before" or "after" you do anything else?
Answer: Acutally it's an easy decision to make, because it all comes down to using common sense based on how, what, and when you put items into the tank. Here are some example situations:
- If you are going to only use non-living corals or other decorative items, go ahead and add the substrate, properly clean any items you plan to use before placing them into the aquarium, and then aquascape the tank.
- If you are adding live rock that has been cured in a separate curing setup, or using non-living base of other decorative type rocks, since they are not yet in the aquarium, put the substrate in first, add the rocks, and then aquascape the tank.
- If you are curing live rock inside the main aquarium itself, of course it is going to be much easier to add the substrate in after the rocks, since they are already in the tank. Just be sure to blow off any sediment that may settle on top on the rocks once you are done arranging them.
As you can see, there are no set rules for when to add substrate to an aquarium. It all depends on you, and in what order you are doing things. You decide!
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