Live Sand Questions

[bruindave]

This might be a silly question, but how do you wash live sand? Are you washing it with RODI water or mixed salt water or just tap water???

How much sand would I need for a 28 gallon nano cube? I think I need 30 lbs from what I read...

I'm looking at this stuff, the natural white #1

http://www.petco.com/Shop/Product.aspx?sku=708950

[lazydaze73]

Don't wash it

[bruindave]

ok cool i won't wash it. so the next question is is 30 or 40 lbs of this stuff needed for a 28 gallon nano cube?

[Kenmx10]

The sand calculator on the home page will help you determine how much sand you might want to add.

[bruindave]

don't know if i'm calculating this right, but according to their website they're 40 lbs per cubic foot (is that right????)

tank dimensions are 18x22 for a 2 inch bed that yields about 20 lbs of this sand. Is that right?

[pyithar]

don't know if i'm calculating this right, but according to their website they're 40 lbs per cubic foot (is that right????)

tank dimensions are 18x22 for a 2 inch bed that yields about 20 lbs of this sand. Is that right?

if it's really 40lb per cubic foot, your calculations are right. it's approximately 18.33 lbs needed.

[bruindave]

just seems low when other places are saying theirs is 70 to 90 lbs per cubic foot. according to their website it's 18.14 per cs which I assume measures out to 40 lbs per cubic foot.

http://www.naturesocean.com/aquarium-sand/

[RocketEngineer]

FYI, that is NOT true Live Sand. That is dry sand shipped in water. Because it is sealed for weeks/months there is not likely to be anything "live" on it beyond bacteria and the bacteria may have died after being sealed without oxygen for that length of time.

True live sand is shipped the same way fish and corals are and you pay for the overnight shipping so the small life you are after survive the trip. Otherwise use dry sand and save yourself the cost. If you buy quality live rock and have that shipped overnight, even a seed piece of LR will eventually seed both the rock and the sand with critters.

[pyithar]

FYI, that is NOT true Live Sand. That is dry sand shipped in water. Because it is sealed for weeks/months there is not likely to be anything "live" on it beyond bacteria and the bacteria may have died after being sealed without oxygen for that length of time.

True live sand is shipped the same way fish and corals are and you pay for the overnight shipping so the small life you are after survive the trip. Otherwise use dry sand and save yourself the cost. If you buy quality live rock and have that shipped overnight, even a seed piece of LR will eventually seed both the rock and the sand with critters.

i agree

[Grizz717]

Definitely. Also you can probably find actual live sand for the same price, but probably less.

[Hitch08]

FYI, that is NOT true Live Sand. That is dry sand shipped in water. Because it is sealed for weeks/months there is not likely to be anything "live" on it beyond bacteria and the bacteria may have died after being sealed without oxygen for that length of time.

True live sand is shipped the same way fish and corals are and you pay for the overnight shipping so the small life you are after survive the trip. Otherwise use dry sand and save yourself the cost. If you buy quality live rock and have that shipped overnight, even a seed piece of LR will eventually seed both the rock and the sand with critters.

Wow. I would certainly have thought it was true live sand.

Do people use sand off of the beach? Seems like it could be dangerous.

[RocketEngineer]

Wow. I would certainly have thought it was true live sand.

Do people use sand off of the beach? Seems like it could be dangerous.

Most folks just use dry sand. The critters that live in the sand can also be found in the rocks. The trick is finding quality LR and that is getting harder and harder to find. I only know of two companies that import LR via air freight and its not cheap. The rest is mostly boat rock which has nothing but dead stuff on it.

A handful of companies sell live sand taken from the Gulf of Mexico. The one I'm going to use for my new tank is Tampa Bay Saltwater (http://www.tampabaysaltwater.com/) and is one of the sponsors of this forum. The rock is aquacultured on the sea floor and the sand is pulled from the same plot. Check them out if you want to see what REAL LR and LS is all about.

[bruindave]

FYI, that is NOT true Live Sand. That is dry sand shipped in water. Because it is sealed for weeks/months there is not likely to be anything "live" on it beyond bacteria and the bacteria may have died after being sealed without oxygen for that length of time.

True live sand is shipped the same way fish and corals are and you pay for the overnight shipping so the small life you are after survive the trip. Otherwise use dry sand and save yourself the cost. If you buy quality live rock and have that shipped overnight, even a seed piece of LR will eventually seed both the rock and the sand with critters.

oh wow i had no idea... i'm guessing that all of this packaged stuff isn't live sand then. Is the best manner of getting live sand from a LFS? How much would I need?

Is this stuff good for starting dry sand then?

[bruindave]

Definitely. Also you can probably find actual live sand for the same price, but probably less.

where can you find it for the same price or less?