sand

[joaquin1119]

What a good type of sand to get?? i was lookin at this one here..

http://www.saltwaterfish.com/site_11_03/product_info.php?products_id=15&parent_category=0&category_search=8&root_parent_id=8&PHPSESSID=a6eff5a20ea7636781e23a8dbc7a556f

tell me what do you think..

[daddypugg]

I'm sure that sand is ok but there will probably be some die off during transport. you might find it cheaper to buy "dry" sand from a local LFS that you like, and then buy a cup or two of "live" sand from someone locally to seed the tank. the sand will become live pretty quickly.

There is alot of controversy buying live vs. dry sand and personnaly I have done both and found that I like buying the dry and seeding it method.

A well known snd is that is used is called Old Castle or Yardright I can't remember which it goes by now but you might (if you are lucky) be able to find it at Home Depot.

[bertoni]

I don't know of any reviews of that product. It's fairly expensive, but might be worthwhile. Hard to say. I'd use it for seeding some standard dead sand in any case. What depth of substrate are you planning?

[MJAnderson]

Tagging along on this since I have dry sand that i just added. I got 10lbs of live sand from a local guy with a 3 year old tank. When I got home to check it out, I really couldn't see much in it --- A few worms is all that was visible to the naked eye. Is the live sand mostly for the bacteria? I'll admit I was expecting more.

[aquapod]

I got sand in a blue bag that had bacteria built into it. You can get 20 lb bags at the LFS. Looknig back I wish I had gotten sand from tampa bay saltwater because their live rock was so full of life i'm sure their live sand would have been just as good. Check into tampa bay saltwater "the package" if youre starting out your tank and havent purchased any live rock or sand yet.

[MJAnderson]

Do they just sell sand? I really can't justify $1000 for rocks and sand. I got my rock off someone who was moving and taking down their tank. 115lbs for $150. Plenty of life on it. I'm just not sure I have diversity in my sand.

[bertoni]

Live sand should have plenty of animals in it. A magnifying glass or a microscope helps a lot in evaluating it, though. Bacteria will come for free.