Does AragaLIVE really work??

[Beckmola24]

Title says it all. Just wondering if it's worth the money or not? Thanks!

[Beckmola24]

Anyone?

[jasper24]

Not sure but I use it because I get to skip the rinsing process of regular substrate!

[sulp]

Although I have never used it, I have read many posts that say it's no good. I can't think of the exact reasons off the top of my head but I distinctly remember a ton of negative responses. I'm sure someone will chime in about this.

[Beckmola24]

Anyone else out there who has an opinion on AragaLIVE??

[Beckmola24]

Bump!

[NewMariner]

Ive used it as at the time I didnt know any better and it was a good sand....I liked it...Now I dont buy the part where you dont have to cycle the tank and it certainly is not live sand with critters crawling in it. But if you cant find anything else, then it is a decent sand...

[Project Reef]

I've used it many many times. Love it, never had a problem.

[sylaak]

It's only live in the sense that it has nitrifying bacteria. There aren't any worms or other critters in it.

[lacie143]

it doesnt even have bacteria. it has a fertilizer of sorts for bacteria. the shelf life is 12 months, at room temperature in dark boxes theres no way theres live stuff in there

[jdieck]

Originally posted by sylaak
It's only live in the sense that it has nitrifying bacteria. There aren't any worms or other critters in it.

That is right, You got to know what to expect. I used Aragalive for one third (or 110 pounds) of my total sand.

What I liked:
a) No rinsing and no messy water, very clean with no dust, straws or other similar detritus.
b) Accelerated cycling (but the tank still cycles)
c) The grain size

What I did not like:
a) Obviously no critters other than bacteria
b) Price
c) One of the bags came in with a due date expired but the vendor replaced it imediately.

[aquaria_rn]

I had to use it just this past month due to an unfortunate leak. I had a 55G start to leak while doing a water change. I put 60Lbs of Aragalive sand in my new 72bowfront. The tank cycled quicker, didn't get no Nh3 spike, No2 or N03. It has never looked better. I have been doing chemistries atleast 1-2 times per week to be sure that all is well. It has now been 3 weeks and everthing looks great. I really loved it and it gives a very real and pleasing look to the tank. As above ,I agree with the "likes" and "dislikes". But I do like it, and would use it again if need to.:rollface:

[FastUno]

I've used it & agree with the statments thus far. It looks really good, no cloudy mess, & I barely had a cycle.

If I had to use sand again I would still use aragalive. Price stinks though!

[TheyCallMeFishy]

I have used it, and haven't had any problems. If i was to start a bigger tank, it would be about a third of the total sand volume. $20 for 20 pounds is pretty steep for some sand.

[Rikko]

I really have to question just how alive something is after sitting in a dark plastic bag for a year.

[mrbncal]

Use it when setting up small tanks for friends and clients. It greratly reduces the cycling times. Doesn't do away with them but sure mellows it out. Thumbs up ...

btw if bacteria can be found around boiling hot volcanic vents at the bottom of the ocean then a bag on a self has got to be like club med.:)

[jarhed]

I used it on my 40gal a year ago and my cycle was only about 4-5 weeks. The tank was literally stable in no time and I was adding fish.

[jdav]

it looks nice and you don't have to rinse it.

that's all I care about

[Beckmola24]

I went to my LFS today and it just so happened that they had the AragaLive. I looked at it really closely and I actually saw a few pods swimming around in there. It was a brand NEW shipment so it might've been pretty fresh, but I really did see some little pods in there. HTH

[Cholesterol]

I've used it and liked it. If my next tank wasn't going to be BB I would use aragalive.

[musicman]

I love Arag-alive! Premium aquatics has the stuff I use for like $16 a 20lb bag. Granted, there is some shipping, but it's not that much. Way better than paying the $30 a bag my LFS wants for it. Heck, my LFS want $17 for a 15lb bag of DRY aragonite!!

[cyberpanther]

jdieck stated it the best IMO. I would go with live sand from the ocean only, but thats just me. There is a guy who sells and has been selling Fiji live sand on eBay for years and he is great IMO. I have purchased from him numerous times. He has 25 lbs of Fiji live sand for $39 and FREE SHIPPING! I have never had so many critters in my sand until I purchased his sand.

[Harmonicat]

Bacteria doesn't need light to live.

[fantasticfish]

I had worms and stuff in mine...

[Beckmola24]

Well I bought some yesterday and it was a very fresh batch (the exp date is for next July and it lasts a year on the shelf). I just wanted to set my little 20 gallon tank again just for fun :) It is deffinately nice sand. It has various grain sizes so it looks really natural. The stuff I bought was from Nature's Ocean.

[jdav]

I set up my new tank last night with agralive.

there was at least 1 worm in my sand. I saw wim crawling around after I put the sand in and before I put the rocks in.

[Saltz Creep]

Originally posted by Harmonicat
Bacteria doesn't need light to live.

Yup. And if the SW in the bag is charged with O2, the bacteria can easily survive a year
(even in the dark ;))

[Jamesurq]

I used aragalive for my first setup - the black and white indo pacific stuff. I liked it okay.

I only use southdown now - but that's just because I'm not into paying too much for things anymore.

[Beckmola24]

Can pods survive in those types of conditions? They're pretty hardy little critters :)

[cyberpanther]

Actually, I know people are saying they found worms and critters in Arga-Alive, but it really is not that alive. I am not flaming anyone but, there are absolutely NO worms in the Arga-Alive, sorry. It must have come from somewhere else seriously, such as live rock, live rock rubble a coral was attached too, other sand, etc, etc, etc. BUT NOT THE ARGA-ALIVE. No worms or critters are in Arga-Alive...JUST BACTERIA and sand. I just don't want people thinking that Arga-Alive is just like TRUE live sand, because IT'S NOT.

Here's a little info about Arga-Alive. Notice it just states about bacteria, and nothing about worms or critters. Trust me if they are advertising something as alive and there were more critters alive in it, they would definitely advertise it. But thery don't advertise it, because they would not survive and therefore pollute the water/sand.


Info about Arga-Alive taken from Marine Depot:


CaribSea Arag-Alive Sp. Grade 1-2mm: Arag-Alive! Aragonite Reef Sand with Live Stabilized Marine Bacteria : Use alone, or to kick-start our dry aragonite! Arag-Alive has more surface area for bacterial porosity; approximately 20,000 square inches per cubic inch! Arag-Alive will dramatically reduce cycling time in new set-ups because it contains millions of heterotrophic, autotrophic, and chemolithotrophic bacteria. Arag-Alive has 381,000 ppm calcium, 7,390 ppm strontium, 1050 ppm magnesium, 590,000 ppm carbonate (buffer), 56 ppm potassium, and is lowest in phosphate and has no silica. Arag-Alive also provides molybdenum, barium, boron, selenium, beryllium, and other essential ocean trace elements. CaribSea Arag-Alive is not beach collected. This aragonite comes from the pure and pristine Bahama Banks and unlike beach zone collected sands contains no tar, harmful organics, or impurities.

[Beckmola24]

The bag of the indo pacific black stuff I saw at my LFS had a lot of water in it. I actually stood there for 10 minutes looking at the sand and I DID actually see a few pods in there. These bags had a lot more water in them than the usual ones I see at places like Petco and Petsmart. Now like I stated before, this was a new shipment. I don't know about worms, because I didn' see any of those, but I saw a few creatures swimming around in the bag.

[romunov]

If the pack is new, there may be some animals in there, of course. But that should not be regarded as a rule. If one really wants live sand, you can get it from local reefers or online vendors. :D
I find aragonite cheaper, and other sands even cheaper (like silica sands).

[FastUno]

I think what makes this sand so potent is the fact that it has bacteria. The bacteria that are present do not need to grow in light, they just need to be fed nutrients & as a result will remove nutrients from your tank. They derive their energies from existing energy sources & cannot make their own.

[romunov]

They don't remove nutrients from the tank, they just help them mediate. You remove them by a water change, skimmer action and algae growth.

Bacteria can multiply in an amazing rate and buying this sand just to get a head start of a few million cells is just a waste of money. :bigeyes:
Live rock has all the bacteria you'll ever need to kick start the tank.

[hollinhead]

somebody must work the ARAGALIVE, If poeple see things in the bag they see things. :smokin:

[CaptiveMarine]

Originally posted by cyberpanther
jdieck stated it the best IMO. I would go with live sand from the ocean only, but thats just me. There is a guy who sells and has been selling Fiji live sand on eBay for years and he is great IMO. I have purchased from him numerous times. He has 25 lbs of Fiji live sand for $39 and FREE SHIPPING! I have never had so many critters in my sand until I purchased his sand.

Do you remember his ebay user name? I need about 100 pounds of live sand and that sounds like a great deal.