deep sand bed help

I have been setting up my new reef tank for a while now,the live sand and live rock was added about 1 month ago but nothing seems to have happend,the heater has been constantly running so how do i know if the live sand is working if you know what i mean,has the bacteria died or can i add some bacteria to get thing going?Im new to this and confused what the best option is.

 

What are your parameters?

Ammonia -
Nitrite -
Nitrate -
Alkalinity -
Phosphate -
Mag -

What size of tank do you have? What equipment are you using? (skimmer, reactors?, lighting, pumps) Any live rock? How long has the tank been up and running all together?

 

Have you been adding a food source?

 

how deep is the sand bed too>

 

Tank has been running about 2 months ,it a 2 foot by 2 foot by 3 foot high,running a protein skimmer and the sand bed is 4 ich normal sand and 2 inch topped with live sand,about 50kg live rock,150w single metal halide lamp.
Ive been adding some flake food for food source,thats about it

thanks

 

The only way you will know is by testing ammonia nitrite and nitrate.

 

+1 you have to track the progress of your parameters. You will see a spike in ammonia, then nitrite, then nitrate.

 

Based on what you've said, thereis no questioyour sand is alive. Testing will tell you if thereis enough life to support your bioload. If sand is alive, which yours is, it can usually adapt to changes in bioload fairly quickly.

 

+1....Check your levels. You'll need a good test kit. Be certain you're ready to add life, and start thinking of what kind of clean up crew you want. Any trace of ammonia or nitrite is bad, nitrates are usually going to show in trace amounts. That's ok. Post your results here when after you test. It sounds like you're off to a good start though.

 

test results

just tested and below are my results,are these good or do i have a problem?Also when i get to the correct readings what should i add first?dont want snails but any ideas would help thanks

ammonia 3 parts per million
nitrite 1.5ppm
nitrate 80ppm
phospahte 3ppm
calcium 540 ppm
calcium hardness aprox 540ppm

double check my readings and these above are what i have read off the charts in the test kits.:-/