How long until SD sand becomes live?
- Thread starter sylock
- Start date
fish fry
Member
A would say a minimum of a couple of months. I assume you are going to have LR in the tank. The rock will help add larger critters (pods, worms etc) to the sand. These are extremely beneficial. To get a really good sand bed and to decrease the length of time it takes to become active I would stock it with some critters. Many companies sell kits that contain them.
HTH
Fry
HTH
Fry
up north hermit
Member
Ah, it is refreshing to see someone who has the patience for a tank to mature! 
Your sand will be "alive" immediately, but not fully mature for 4-8 months.
I seeded my pure aragonite sand with about 20% of live sand (from another mature tank I had) in my new 40 gal reef. Within 8 weeks I could see the worm trails beginning in the sand (looking at the front glass). The tank is now 9 months old and I would say it is mature at this point. The sand is literally teeming with life.
These critters and bacteria reproduce at an amazing rate. You will have billions of bacteria from your live sand in a short time. As for critters (the worms, etc) you need to either add a detrivore kit and/or add good quality live rock and let her go.
It is perfectly fine to add shrimp, snails, crabs, and other inverts and "cleaners" well before 9 months. In fact, it is recommended. And, you need to FEED your critters, that's right, even bacteria need to eat! So if all you have is LR and a DSB, you'll still need to add a pinch of flake or the like to "feed" the bed.
HTH
Hermit
Your sand will be "alive" immediately, but not fully mature for 4-8 months.
I seeded my pure aragonite sand with about 20% of live sand (from another mature tank I had) in my new 40 gal reef. Within 8 weeks I could see the worm trails beginning in the sand (looking at the front glass). The tank is now 9 months old and I would say it is mature at this point. The sand is literally teeming with life.
These critters and bacteria reproduce at an amazing rate. You will have billions of bacteria from your live sand in a short time. As for critters (the worms, etc) you need to either add a detrivore kit and/or add good quality live rock and let her go.
It is perfectly fine to add shrimp, snails, crabs, and other inverts and "cleaners" well before 9 months. In fact, it is recommended. And, you need to FEED your critters, that's right, even bacteria need to eat! So if all you have is LR and a DSB, you'll still need to add a pinch of flake or the like to "feed" the bed.
HTH
Hermit
sylock
Member
Thanks for the info guys.
Hermit,
Can you put a rough time line on the following steps?
1) Hook up tank and put water in
2) Put 90% 'play sand' 10% LS and about 1 lb per gallon LR
3) "shrimp, snails, crabs, and other inverts and "cleaners" well before 9 months" *** Cylce again? ***
4) 1/2 to 1 lb more of LR per gallon (I would like to split this due to money if possible. Cost of tank and about 1/2 of the LR at the beginning will be all my wife will probably let me do upfront). *** Has to cycle again right? ***
5) The few fish I'll put in. *** Has to cycle again right? ***
6) Corals.
My thoughts were nine months before 5/6 but what about the 4 steps before that. Thanks for your time.
Edit: I put in the questions about cycling the tank
[ December 14, 2001: Message edited by: Sylock ]
Hermit,
Can you put a rough time line on the following steps?
1) Hook up tank and put water in
2) Put 90% 'play sand' 10% LS and about 1 lb per gallon LR
3) "shrimp, snails, crabs, and other inverts and "cleaners" well before 9 months" *** Cylce again? ***
4) 1/2 to 1 lb more of LR per gallon (I would like to split this due to money if possible. Cost of tank and about 1/2 of the LR at the beginning will be all my wife will probably let me do upfront). *** Has to cycle again right? ***
5) The few fish I'll put in. *** Has to cycle again right? ***
6) Corals.
My thoughts were nine months before 5/6 but what about the 4 steps before that. Thanks for your time.
Edit: I put in the questions about cycling the tank
[ December 14, 2001: Message edited by: Sylock ]
up north hermit
Member
Yes you can certainly add fish well before 9 months. I applaud your patience in waiting before adding the corals. This is a good thing.
Inverts are sensitive, so I woild wait until your tank cycles, about 4-6 weeks, before adding them.
After the cycle, you can add LR slowly at any time without a cycle, as long as you do it SLOWLY. When adding LR to a fully mature tank, you can add a piece at a time, of cured rock, without too much fear of a recycle. I added 125 lbs of LR to my 125 gal tank this way. I simply added a 2-5 lb piece at a time. Once I added a 20 lb rock and all was well.
So, I would put in your DSB, your LR, your water and let her go. Keep testing till you are sure the cycle has ended, then add your inverts and cleaner crew. (Keep in mind, the cycle time is different for each application).
After that, you can add your LR a piece at a time. Then add fish (if you are going to have fish in your reef), and lastly, after the tank is well mature (6-9 months) add your corals one at a time.
Whala! Reef tank!
Like everything else, this is just my (successful ) way of setting up a reef. There are as many opinions as there are people. But on most of the basics we all agree. The most important asset in this hobby is patience.
HTH
Hermit
Inverts are sensitive, so I woild wait until your tank cycles, about 4-6 weeks, before adding them.
After the cycle, you can add LR slowly at any time without a cycle, as long as you do it SLOWLY. When adding LR to a fully mature tank, you can add a piece at a time, of cured rock, without too much fear of a recycle. I added 125 lbs of LR to my 125 gal tank this way. I simply added a 2-5 lb piece at a time. Once I added a 20 lb rock and all was well.
So, I would put in your DSB, your LR, your water and let her go. Keep testing till you are sure the cycle has ended, then add your inverts and cleaner crew. (Keep in mind, the cycle time is different for each application).
After that, you can add your LR a piece at a time. Then add fish (if you are going to have fish in your reef), and lastly, after the tank is well mature (6-9 months) add your corals one at a time.
Whala! Reef tank!
Like everything else, this is just my (successful
) way of setting up a reef. There are as many opinions as there are people. But on most of the basics we all agree. The most important asset in this hobby is patience.HTH
Hermit