smy168
06/05/2006, 10:34 AM
I've seen alot of new hobbyists on this forum lately asking about livesand from the bags and I wanted to share some experiences and info with you before you jump in. DON'T DO IT!
I think the key question is this.........
1. How do you keep sand live in a bag on a shelf with no food, oxygen or temp control?
You can't, these bags of sand use key words like "bio-activity, microbial," they mean nothing and in the end all it means is that dry sand is mixed with salt water. the reason your tank clears so much quicker is because it's wet sand that doesn't require cleaning.
I say this becasue in my 120 I bought 200lbs of this stuff, and it didn't cycle any better or had any beneficial bacteria, i knoiw this because of my anality, I sent a 10lbs bag to my chemist friend and he did some studies that came back absolutely devoid of any life-forms whatsoever. Yeah, ****ed me off too.
So what would I recommend? Dry sand with a cupful of livesand from an established tank, you can get this from a friend or even the lfs, this seeding precess would inherently give you better results. There is no shortcut to cycling no matter what this hobby tries to sell you, cycling is cycling, it requires time, patience and planning. I've been in this hobby for a little over 10years now and have learned the hardway by losing corals and livestock because I was impatient and didn't take the time to read.
Best of luck to you all and remember that the ocean isn't a limitless resource of corals, fish and liverock, we're losing more life forms everyday so do it right the first time and I promise this hobby will offer you alot more than you think.
Steven
I think the key question is this.........
1. How do you keep sand live in a bag on a shelf with no food, oxygen or temp control?
You can't, these bags of sand use key words like "bio-activity, microbial," they mean nothing and in the end all it means is that dry sand is mixed with salt water. the reason your tank clears so much quicker is because it's wet sand that doesn't require cleaning.
I say this becasue in my 120 I bought 200lbs of this stuff, and it didn't cycle any better or had any beneficial bacteria, i knoiw this because of my anality, I sent a 10lbs bag to my chemist friend and he did some studies that came back absolutely devoid of any life-forms whatsoever. Yeah, ****ed me off too.
So what would I recommend? Dry sand with a cupful of livesand from an established tank, you can get this from a friend or even the lfs, this seeding precess would inherently give you better results. There is no shortcut to cycling no matter what this hobby tries to sell you, cycling is cycling, it requires time, patience and planning. I've been in this hobby for a little over 10years now and have learned the hardway by losing corals and livestock because I was impatient and didn't take the time to read.
Best of luck to you all and remember that the ocean isn't a limitless resource of corals, fish and liverock, we're losing more life forms everyday so do it right the first time and I promise this hobby will offer you alot more than you think.
Steven