Diverse sand bed

[Keith P]

People always talk about taking a cup of sand to seed a new dead sand bed..

Would it be better to take a cup from multiple people? I was thinking about going around collecting sand from many different tanks.

Worth the effort?

 

[Killerdrgn]

be careful of that, only take from trusted people because you never know if the person's sand bad has some nasties in it.

 

[basiab]

In general yes. But there are some things to consider. How 'clean' is the source. Any chance you are picking up ich. The second consideration is how long your tank has been running. If it is new sand in a new tank there may not be enough 'nutrients' in your sand to support the new life you are bringing in.

 

[D1J8Z]

not worth it you should have plenty of things in your LR and if there are anything else you dont have you can add them pods ect.

 

[mikey3165]

every system has ich no matter what unless your running copper they just arent able to attach and create a cyst (idk how to spell it) on the fish because your fish is healthy with a slime coat but when fish are stressed out the slime coat drops and thats how fish get ich so ich is something that you shouldnt worry about

 

[Keith P]

I don't think ich will be an issue. It will be a few weeks before I introduce any fish into my new system.

 

[rookie07]

more trouble than its worth in my eyes...plus you run a higher risk of picking up something bad

PS I grew up in port...I got my first tank from the place on Port blvd...not even sure if it is still there

 

[KathyC]

every system has ich no matter what unless your running copper they just arent able to attach and create a cyst (idk how to spell it) on the fish because your fish is healthy with a slime coat but when fish are stressed out the slime coat drops and thats how fish get ich so ich is something that you shouldnt worry about

Mikey, this is not necessarily true. Copper isn't 'run' on active reef tanks, perhaps you mean for folks who have treated their fish with copper in a QT tank?
Ich usually attacks fish through their gills, not because a fish loses it's slime coat. Where did you hear this?

Keith - if you aren't planning on putting fish in the tank for 6-8 weeks, then maybe you'd be ok, but wouldn't it be a lot safer to get the sand from a trusted tank and then supplement it with previously trusted products that have a variety of bacteria in them like 'Cycle' and 'Bio-spira' as I assume you are looking for diversity in the bacteria?
If you're also looking to add pods & critters, then the Reef Nutrition line of products would be a good place to look at.