Live Sand

[ocholoco]

Hey guys I have live sand in my tank but i dont feel I have enough,I have about 8 Fish in my tank and about five corals. The question is can i buy live sand @ an pet store and just added? is it safe ? would it cause a spike?

 

[KathyC]

The addition of live sand shouldn't cause a spike as it is already 'live'.

Any pics of your tank?

 

[ocholoco]

It's the sand that petland, petco ect.. sell in the bags is it Live?

 

[KathyC]

Some is & some isn't..the bags are marked 'live'. I see that Carib Sea has a new kind of 'live sand' that looks to be dry in the bag (follow the directions carefully for rinsing this sand as it must be done with SW or you'll kill the sand). I wouldn't trust the new type as much as I would their previous type where the bag actually had water in it when adding it to an established tank.

If you use the kind with the water in it, use a long funnel and add it to your tank slowly to minimize the cloudiness you'll otherwise end up with. I'd also turn off the powerheads first.

What size grain are you looking to add?

 

[ocholoco]

I like the really thin grain.

 

[KathyC]

Just remember that the really fine grained sand will blow around in your tank if a powerhead points at it. I personally like the grade called 'Special'.

 

[ocholoco]

live sand

ill take a look at it.

 

[basiab]

You have sand but not enough. What does that mean. If you have an inch that is enough unless you want a DSB and then you need a lot more. More than an inch and less than a DSB is usually a source of problems.

 

[ocholoco]

live sand

I have about an inch I wanted at least four inches, I heard that having a deep sand base it's the success of most reef tanks.

 

[MyNemesis]

Moving to DSB

I have a DSB and in my opinion, you would be better off using the Aragonite sand sold by Petco, etc, that is clearly not "live". By the time those bags reach the stores, anything "live" in them is long dead, and adding that to your tank would cause a spike due to the die off of what is contained in the sand. I like the sugar sized aragonite. With the one inch sand bed you have and given the depth you want to attain, you should add approximately one half inch of depth at a time (say each week) so that the critters, bacteria and so on can make themselves feel right at home with the new addition and you don't smother them. Your sand bed also needs to change from aerobic to anaerobic, the bacteria need to change somewhat and these things are best accomplished gradually.

 

[ihatefish]

the rule of thumb is about 3 to 4 inchs in a reef just buy regular sand it will be cheaper just wash it very well and add it. If you need just put the fish in a holding tank.