dskidmore
Active Member
Originally posted by anenome123
thanks a lot.! btw whats the difference between live sand and normal sand. and should i use fake plants?
There are varying types of live sand. The stuff they sell in bags at the pet store has some bacteria on it that will make your tank cycle faster. As some others have said, live rock will serve this purpose just as well, and will spread the bacteria to the "dead" sand you put in.
Many vendors of live rock have another type of live sand available that is harvested from the ocean floor and kept in holding tanks with good filtration and air. This kind of live sand has not only bacteria but also small animals that stir the sand and eat debris. This is the best kind of live sand, but not truely necessary to run a tank. If you can find an experienced reefer near you who got this kind of sand in the past, just a cup of his/her sand may be enough to seed this kind of life in your tank too.
For the base sand, the important thing is that it be right both chemically and in texture. You want a very fine sand that is made of calcium carbonate (aragonite). The SouthDown Play Sand is the cheapest source, available at Home Depots in the Northeast USA. They're not allowed to sell it for aquarium use though, so don't get chatty with the staff. If you're not in the northeast, the next best thing is CaribSea Aragonite Aragamax Oolitic sand. This actually comes from the same mining operation as the SouthDown, but is authorized for aquarium usage and costs more. Next in preferance is any aragonite in a fine grain, next any playsand that doesn't stick to a magnet. Aragonite is white, and fizzes in pool acid, if you need to identify it.
