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The Alternative Method: in the Aquarium and Fast
Whereas you can certainly try to cycle sand faster (usually this means larger quantities in one time), the dangers that are associated with it are to be seriously considered before embarking on this process. Larger amounts of dead sand handled in one session, create more potential areas for things to go wrong and for the hobbyist to end up with a tank that suddenly has a lot of problems. Since one problem usually leads to another, I do recommend real caution if you embark on this method.
When large amounts of sand are added to the aquarium, and when the sand packs because it is of the real fine kind (for alternative types of sand see the Live Sand Update Article referred to earlier), the likelihood is high that the amount of ammonia and nitrite that will be produced and generated will be higher than in the previous method described. The danger of ending up with anaerobic spots in the aquarium (in the deeper areas of the sand layer) is much greater too. The reason for this is that organic material may get deeper in the layers and thus decompose faster and at a higher rate. Should this suddenly occur in a real low oxygen content area (anaerobic or close to it), the danger of hydrogen sulfide appearing is high.
Although the method can be used, I do not recommend it because of the greater amount of stress that is generated. This stress will affect all the animals. Die off will occur, not necessarily fish, but on the rocks. This will lead to NH3 and NO2 showing greater concentrations. Stress results, and you may end up with animals that die or with animals that are greatly in danger of dying. Fish may develop parasitic infestations.
Important Notes:
Ammonia is a strong irritant to the gills of the fish and will result in the fish gilling faster and the gills turning red. Nitrite interferes with the uptake of oxygen by hemoglobin (which transports oxygen through the bloodstream and brings it to where it is necessary). When nitrite concentrations are high, the fish need to gill faster to uptake the necessary amount of oxygen. In both cases the extra effort fish have to go through to obtain the needed oxygen is a great stress factor. In some cases the amounts can be so high that the fish actually die because of a serious lack of oxygen (burnt gills in the case of too high ammonia levels, and suffocation in the second one, because the blood cannot hold enough oxygen for the fish).
The key, when you use this method, is to monitor your ammonia and nitrite levels very closely and very frequently and perform water changes when necessary to prevent the levels from rising too high. This is really important if you wish to avoid problems. In the worst of all cases you could even use some of the ammonia neutralizing liquids that are available on the market. Thiel Aqua Tech produces one called No-Ammonia.
The methodology for this approach is the same as the one outlined before: you add the sand, except that in this case you add a lot more at once. Other than that it is a matter of waiting for all the biological processes to take place and bacteria to develop in the sand. Stirring the sand regularly is even more important if you practice this method than in the one described before. This is meant to prevent anaerobic areas from forming. By stirring the sand you will avoid this. The dangers of anaerobic decomposition and decay were explained already.
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