live sand in a bag?

[EB847]

DOES LIVE SAND USUALLY COME IN A PLASTIC BAG? I SAW VARIOUS TYPES FOR SALE AT MY LFS. ARE THERE ANY CRITTERS ALIVE IN THERE? CAN YOU BUY LIVE SAND THAT IS NOT PACKAGED IN A BAG?
IS ONE BETTER THAN THE OTHER AND WHY? THANKS.

 

[Anonymous]

Usually by the time the sand is bought there is nothing "LIVE" left in them. IMO the best way to seed a tank is to get live sand from a local reefer or a LFS that could spare a cup. Depending on the LFS somtimes you can come across onthat sells true live sand.

 

[Anonymous]

That bagged stuff, at best just has bacterea. No worms and such which makes true live sand.
Get some of the sand/mud/rubble from the bottom of your LFS's live rock bin, and seed your tank with that. Also, a cup or two from fellow hobbiest's tanks.

Cheers
Jim

 

[investigator1]

YES IT DOES!

My live sand that came in a bag had an amazing amount of life in it. I have tons of creatures and worms in my tank stirring/cleaning my sand bed.

However, it does cause an initial cyano explosion at first because the stuff is just in the bag stagnating.

 

[Juck]

What brand did you get investigator1?

 

[Anonymous]

when i first set up my tank, i bought about 6 bags of the live sand. was pretty expensive but i added the sand and my rock. not sure how much life was truly in the sand - perhaps my rock is what seeded it. but i still don't regret ever buying it.

 

[Anonymous]

YES IT DOES!

My live sand that came in a bag had an amazing amount of life in it. I have tons of creatures and worms in my tank stirring/cleaning my sand bed.

No, it doesn't. Not the stuff I'm thinking off.

Jim

 

[taikonaut]

> YES IT DOES!
If it does, I can't see it with my unaided eyes since the bag just have water and sand, nothing moving...

 

[krashish]

I just had the same experience with my LFS. I usually order from an online retailer, but I thought I'd save $$ on shipping so I went to my LFS for live sand. What a disappointment; definitely not the same stuff I'm used to.

 

[EB847]

DID YOU GET IT IN A BAG OR NOT? IF SO, WHAT WAS THE BRAND?

 

[Anonymous]

Krashish,

Hopefully to help clear some possible confusion here....

What probably most people consider to be pointless "live" sand that usually only has some bacteria is the pre-bagged stuff that sits on shelves.

What probably most consider to be "good" live sand is sand that is scooped out of an aged, existing reef tank and THEN bagged to take home.

You should see all sorts of stuff crawling around in a bag of live sand. Most of the "good" live sand I've gotten has been full of pods, worms even baby brittle stars. I've never bothered with the pre-bagged stuff that sits on shelves for God knows how long..


Hope that helps,
Norm

 

[krashish]

He scouped it from a very shallow tank they use on the display floor. In some parts of the tank, you can even see the bottom. Well, I wouldn't call it a tank, it's round, maybe 3ft in diameter. Just a few inches of water. When he scouped out the sand, he took a good minute to squeeze out all the excess water. Good thing I bought only 3lbs (at 4.99/lb though).

 

[Expos Forever]

I would say the best way to ensure a sandbed full of life is to get LS from as many sources as possible. IPSF, reputable LFS, local reefers, etc... and yes, even the pre-packaged stuff. Also a variety of LR (different origin) will help. The pre-packaged stuff I saw (Ocean's Something (Own)???) had a best before date and a pretty short shelf life IIRC.