BANG GUY: Florida premium Live Sand on SWF.com

[mikegray]

im getting ready to order my 200lbs Live rock and i need sand also to cycle it with.. i was gonna get the bio active sand but its only bacteria.... i want my tank to be full of pods and all that good stuff for the tank.... should i buy this sand with the rock to cycle my tank or will everything fail through the cycle... and i was thinking of getting just aragonite dead sand to have just for teh cycle then get 80lbs off the site but then id have way too much sand than i want? so what should i do? wats the best way.. should i cycle it with no sand and once the rock is cycled just put like 120lbs of swf.com live sand that will give me all the good stuff... i want like 1.5-1.7" of sand in my display tank and i want like 4-5 inches in my sump/fuge which is 21x17x20 and my display is 60x18x24 and has 2 overflows in the corner.. and im going to have 200lbs lr and ima put that if first so nitrates dont buid up under the rock....

 

[bang guy]

If it were me I'd start with dead sand and live rock. Once the tank has cycled I'd add 10-20 pounds of sand from this site.

 

[guardian]

I am new to this site but what is the deal with the sand from this site. Is it some other kind of sand or something?

 

[mikeyjer]

Originally Posted by Guardian
I am new to this site but what is the deal with the sand from this site. Is it some other kind of sand or something?
He's talking about Live Sand!!! The type of sand that has little critters living within.

 

[mikegray]

well bang.... so why only add like 20? and not like 80lbs?
and how long does it take for all the diff critters to reproduce and spread all through all the dead sand and stuff?
also what dead sand looks just like the live stuff from this site.. i dont want to mix.. i want real white sand.. and if i put my rock in first and then the dead dry sand... wont is sand storm and cover all my rock and be ugly.. should i just soak it in a bucket with some salt water from tank until it settles down and soaks then put it in so its heavy and wet so my tank doesnt get hella cloudy.

 

[wieselspor]

I just added a bunch of sand to my cycled tank and holy cow! It looks like ground zero in there everything is covered in silt. I tried to brush it off and didnt have much success. Did I screw up or will everything eventually be brushed off by snails and crabs???
Just thought I'd let you know what I did.

 

[bang guy]

Originally Posted by MikeGray
well bang.... so why only add like 20? and not like 80lbs?
80 pounds of live would be fine but it works best to only add about 1/2" of live sand at a time.
and how long does it take for all the diff critters to reproduce and spread all through all the dead sand and stuff?
Just a few weeks if you start with a significant amount of live sand. A few months if you're starting with just a handful of sand.
also what dead sand looks just like the live stuff from this site.. i dont want to mix.. i want real white sand.. and if i put my rock in first and then the dead dry sand... wont is sand storm and cover all my rock and be ugly.. should i just soak it in a bucket with some salt water from tank until it settles down and soaks then put it in so its heavy and wet so my tank doesnt get hella cloudy.
There's a company that ships Oolitic Araginite sand. It's not exactly like the sand from here but it's darn close. I can't remember the name though. Caribsea sugar sized aragonite sand is also good.
The sand storm is harmless and temporary. It will lower the Calcium and ALK levels of the water but these elements will be replenished as you do water changes during the cycle.

 

[mikegray]

yea but sand storms.... umm the sand will sit on the rocks.. ho wthe heck do u clean the rocks of all the sand??
soo umm i need to find sugar sized aragonite.. cant find it anywhere thats white looking..
southdown,yardright,oldcastle cant find anywhere im in california..
so ill just fill my tank up with a 1" sandbed and when its done cycling ill get 40lbs and ill make the other 1/2" i want in the display and ill put the rest in the refuge....

 

[mikegray]

i got 60lbs of the caribsea aragonite tonight.. all they had was 60lbs so im hoping it will put 1" in the display tank and about 3" in the fuge

 

[airforceb2]

Originally Posted by MikeGray
yea but sand storms.... umm the sand will sit on the rocks.. ho wthe heck do u clean the rocks of all the sand??
Use a turkey baster and blow the sand off the rocks. It will take about a week but it works.