Live sand

[frazin78]

Well my LFS does not carry Live Sand. I was reading a few messages on this board and I can see that having this live sand will increase my water quality by reducing the nitrates. Now I plan on purchasing some from the US and have it ship here into Canada over night. Here are a few questions that I have in regards to the live sand: ( I have a 46 Gallon Bow front)

1- How many inches of sand is recommended in a tank?

2- 1 lbs of Live Sand will cover about how many cubic inches or square inches of my tank.

3- Can I use some sand box as my first layer and then put a small layer of Live sand over top. ( Reason why I ask is because it will cost me $2.33 US of shipping per pound)

4- If I can use sand box sand what is required on my part to clean this sand before putting into my tank.

5- How do I put this sand in my tank without making some clouds of dirt in my tank.

I know this might be alot of questions in regards to this subject but I want to do it right and cover all the bases, if anyone has recommendations in regards to this subject I do appreciate your input.

Thank you

Jc

[OrionGirl]

Play sand is perfect for the base of a deep sand bed, with just 10% or so of live sand to kick start it. We used about 100 lbs for a 5 inch sand bed in a 65, so you'll need a bunch. www.garf.org has a calculator you can use to determine how much sand you'll need, and they also sell activator kits.

Any kind of small grained sand will work. Ones that are aragonite based (Old Kastle and Southdown are the local brands) will help buffer the tank, but silica based sand will work as well.

[frazin78]

Thank you OrionGirl.

Another question is the site mentions Oliva snail as being a great critter to add to the tank to keep the live sand working to the best of it's ability. Only thing is I know my puffer will eat these little guys.

Is there any other critters that I should add to help with moving sand around such as sand sifting gobbies or something? or will those guys eat the good bacteria or critters that remove the nitrates? I have read that they are not an easy fish to keep neither.. IS having something that moves around the sand a must? or does it do ok on it's own.

Thank you

Jc

[OrionGirl]

Bristleworms and serpent stars are good cleaners when you have a puffer or trigger around. They stay out of sight during the day, but go to work all night. Also, many of the smaller snails that will reproduce in your tank are great--some get eaten, but many escape detection while small, so can work for you until they become a snack.

I wouldn't add a sand sifter goby--they tend to disturb the sand a bit too much, and that's not good either. We use just snails and worms in with a trigger. While he gets to occassional snail, there are always tons of them hidden in the live rock and under the sand.

[mogurnda]

I was wondering about nassarius snails with the puffer. They stay buried most of the time, so they might be able to escape being eaten.

[frazin78]

Originally posted by OrionGirl
sell activator kits.

Any kind of small grained sand will work. Ones that are aragonite based (Old Kastle and Southdown are the local brands) will help buffer the tank, but silica based sand will work as well.

There is a sand box in my neighboors yard and he doesn't mind if I take some but how do I know if it's argonite or not. Is there a bad type of sand I shouldn't use..... As well where would I find the brands of sand that you mentioned above, in a Home Depot or from a landscaping company. I am clueless about where to get the stuff.

I have a golf course near my place, I dont' golf but would the sand in the sand traps be ok?

What do you mean by activator kits?

Jc

[mogurnda]

I'd get stuff right out of the bag, rather than anything that's been outside. I would worry about fertilizers and pesticides. You should be able to find it at a local Home Depot.

Live sand activator kits are either collections of animals that should be in your sand bed, or samples of sand or mud from an established tank that will seed detritivores in your sand.

[OrionGirl]

Definitely don't use sand that's been outside. Aside from pesticides and such, you have to worry about the other users--cats and dogs in the neighborhood have likely used that sand. I can recall several posters who had serious algae problems, only to discover that their substrate had been used by cats for a litter box--a big Yuck!

Home Depot, Lowe's, and most building supply places will carry different types of sand, usually with the cement supplies. The label on the bad will indicate if it's aragonite or silica based.

Yep--nassarius are the ones that we have, and they breed readily in our sump and tanks. Never so much that they over run the place, but there are always lots of them around. Between snails-snatching hermits and the trigger, there are usually enough in our system for clean up duty as well.

[frazin78]

Thanks for the warning. :)

I will swing by Home Depot tonight to see what they have. :) I also plan on purchasing about 5-7 lbs of Live sand to activate my sand bed. :) Maybe more but I am only putting about 40 lbs of sand in the tank.

Where could I get these so called nassarius snails?

Thanks for all the tips.

Jc

[frazin78]

Originally posted by mogurnda

Live sand activator kits are either collections of animals that should be in your sand bed, or samples of sand or mud from an established tank that will seed detritivores in your sand.

Where is the best place to buy only a few pounds of Live sand or a Sand Activator. I tried placing a few orders today for 10 lbs of Live sand and it's just too expensive for my taste. Anything I order has a $70 extra charge on plus shipping, plus duties plus plus plus.... sorry for venting...

10 lbs of Live $1.69 per pound $16.90
Shipping $70.00
Customs Charges $55.00
Box $8.00

That's over $149.00 for 10 lbs of sand... I forgot to mention duties and the taxes too... :(

I want to help my fish but $149 for only 10 lbs is outrageous for me...

Jc

[OrionGirl]

Couple of options. I'm not sure, but I think the Big Al's stores (thinking you are in Canada?) may sell it, and that would be a cheaper way to go than online.

Otherwise, spend the money of good live rock, and it will come with much of the life you want, which will spread to the sand. Did this with a 50, and it's in good shape, just takes a bit longer to develop.

[frazin78]

Originally posted by OrionGirl
Couple of options. I'm not sure, but I think the Big Al's stores (thinking you are in Canada?) may sell it, and that would be a cheaper way to go than online.

Otherwise, spend the money of good live rock, and it will come with much of the life you want, which will spread to the sand. Did this with a 50, and it's in good shape, just takes a bit longer to develop.

Thx for the ideas. I will have to go with the slow but sure way of introducing LR once the sand bed is in since Big Al's over here doesn't carry LS at all. Oh well thanks for the ideas.

;)