middle of cycle????

If my tank is in the middle of it's initial cycle and I want to add more live sand, will it effect the cycle in a negative way?

 

simple answer... no

 

dont wast ur money on live buy just the nomal play sand at HD

 

I wouldn't buy the play sand, you don't know whats in it. I would buy the sand from macrorocks.

 

I agree live sand is pretty giniky, I would not add it. Most likely it is adding lots of dead bacteria, and therefor po4, NO3 etc... You can just add regular "dry" sand, it will be populated by bacteria quickly. I am not sure you want to add sand from HD though, it is quartz silica. The main issue, is looks, and texture. If you have any sand sifters, the sharp edges of the quartz sand may be a bit much for them. Also, not everyone likes the looks of it. Dry agronite would be fine though.

 

well, what if I opened the bag of live sand, dumped it in a bucket and rinsed it off and let it sit out and dry? then would it technically be dead or dry sand? and then I could go ahead and add it, and not worry about it.

 

Just place the sand IMO. If you already purchased live sand it is a moot point. No harm no foal, just mix it around some with the existing sand and the tank will continue to cycle no problem.

 

If your in the middle of your cycle,IMO it would be fine to rinse it well and just add it,if theres any dead organics left on it would be food for the bacteria and help promote a good population.

 

when adding sand to insure it doesnt cloud the tank use a pvc pipe and pour it in so it goes directly to the bottom of the tank

 

I may have misunderstood, I thought you were planning to buy more sand. If you already have it, it should be ok to add. After your cycle is over, you will likely have some algae blooms anyways and will need to do water changes and use filtration methods, such as protein skimming, and run GFO and carbon to remove the excess organics. so the extra organics at worst will just add a little to that, no big deal.
Washing it probably wouldn't remove all the organics though, because they tend to bind to the surface of the sand, so, I wouldn't bother.

I just meant if you plan to buy sand, save your money because if you already have bacteria in your tank, it will spread very quickly to any dry sand you add. And the dry sand should not add significant organics. Really not a big deal though in a cycling tank. If it were an established tank, that would be another story.