Do I need live rock AND live sand?

[jj48]

It has been along time since I set up a saltwater aquarium and I had a bare bottom tank on my reef tank. This time I want to have sand on the bottom. My question is - If I am going to start my tank with some live rock, can I just use sand that is not live? Will it become live over time? Any suggestions or help is GREATLY appreciated! :happyfish

 

[malounsbury]

Best thing to do is get some tropical play sand or argonite sand and put a little bit of live sand on top of it to seed it. After awhile, the tropical sand will become live sand.

 

[nacl-man]

just use a really thin layer of the sand mentioned above. should work out just fine

 

[jj48]

Thanks for the replies! I think I am going to like this site!