PDA

View Full Version : live sand question

luebkeb13
10/03/2006, 07:56 PM
just starting out and i don't know if for the bed you should use all live sand, or do a 50/50 mixture with some good play sand....any help?
kraze3
10/03/2006, 08:03 PM
I used kolorscape bagged snad from HD. I seeded it with sand that I got from a few diff local reefers for diversity. worked great!
kelly630
10/03/2006, 08:08 PM
I am just setting up my tank now, and bought bagged sand from the LFS. Once that is cleaned and placed into the tank, I'll go back to the LFS and buy some "Live Sand" to seed the rest of the sand.

Play sand? Be careful...I think it's completely different than the bagged sand you'd get at an LFS.
luebkeb13
10/03/2006, 08:13 PM
What kind of sand is kolorscape, never heard of it, but a mixture of that and live sand would work?
kraze3
10/03/2006, 08:36 PM
Kolorscape is bagged by old castle, I asked about it on RC a while ago and got responses from reefers who have used it successfully. There was a thread showing close ups of diff sand. kolorscape wasnt the finest but Ive had no problems with it. There are some sand you dont want in your tank but like i said I as well as others have used it without problems.
luebkeb13
10/03/2006, 08:45 PM
cool, i'll give it a shot
Shagsbeard
10/03/2006, 08:48 PM
Live sand is redundant with live rock too... if you have live rock, you have absolutely no reason to get live sand.
bertoni
10/03/2006, 08:50 PM
If the tank isn't going to have a live DSB, then live sand isn't required. For a functioning DSB, though, animals are required, and I don't count on live rock to contain all the animals needed. By and large, they are different sorts of animals.
luebkeb13
10/03/2006, 08:52 PM
so one or the other, but both is not needed if i have a DSB?
trpigg
10/03/2006, 09:00 PM
Sorry to interupt but what kinds of animals are needed to make it a dsb other than what LR has in it?
bertoni
10/03/2006, 09:03 PM
That's a very good question, with a long answer. The thread on substrate choices at the top of the forum has pointers to a lot of information on setting up a DSB. I think that's a good place to start.
trpigg
10/03/2006, 09:38 PM
Thank you
Liquid Hobby
10/04/2006, 12:35 PM
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8271460#post8271460 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Shagsbeard
Live sand is redundant with live rock too... if you have live rock, you have absolutely no reason to get live sand.

is there not some calsium buffering going on with sand that rock does not handle, aside from the biological piece?
bertoni
10/04/2006, 12:55 PM
Not really. Aragonite doesn't do any significant amount of buffering in an aquarium. The pH has to drop too low to cause dissolution.
Liquid Hobby
10/04/2006, 03:38 PM
Hmmm... what about nitrate reduction?

I guess I'm finding it hard to believe that live sand has no added benefit than just having more live rock... If that's the case, what's all the fuss over DSB???
bertoni
10/04/2006, 03:41 PM
A deep sand bed can do nitrate reduction and can support animals that make it self-cleaning. I don't think anyone has quantified how much nitrate reduction a DSB can do. The thread on substrate choices has pointers to more information on deep sand beds.