Live sand a must?

ren99

ren99

Member
I was talking to this LFS person, and he said that livesand is not necessary for my 120g tank since I will be using live rock.
But when I read the forums here, everyone seems to use live sand or at least use some live sand to seed.
LFS persona also said that all live sands for sale are crap and not worth buying. Only real live sand is from some one's existing tank.
so whats the deal ? what do you veterans think?
 
bigarn

bigarn

Active Member
It's up to the individual. Yes, sand can become LS from seeding from LR, but this takes awhile to happen. Either seeding with some LS or LS from somebody's tank would be better IMO. :D
Not all LS from stores is crap.
 
swnewb

swnewb

Member
You don't HAVE to buy live sand. Eventially the sand in your tank will become "alive". Using LS or seeding sand with LS just speeds the process up.
Of course you LFS will say online sand is crap. They want you to buy from them. If you look around, this site included, you will find that most LS offered is real LS. You probably want to avoid the stuff in the bag however since it will be void of most critters that are good for your tank.
 
mudplayerx

mudplayerx

Active Member
Not buying a bag of live sand (only need enough for a thin, top layer) will add about one to two weeks to your cycling process.
If you don't mind the extra waiting, you don't need it.
 
mudplayerx

mudplayerx

Active Member
Aquatic organisms release waste. This waste decays and releases ammonia, which is toxic to life. Ammonia is converted into nitrite though natural process and bacteria. Bacteria then add an extra oxygen molecule to nitrite and turn it into nitrates, which is much less toxic. In fact, many forms of life use nitrate as nutrients.
What cycling does is slowly introduces ammonia into your tank and allows bacteria to colonize and start the process of breaking down the ammonia to nitrate.
The typical cycle usually consists of two small nitrate spikes, and then a massive ammonia spike. When the ammonia spike goes down to zero, the cycle is over. This usually takes 30-60 days.
The reason you don't put anything into the tank until it is cycled is there is a very good chance it will die during that ammonia spike. Ammonia is used as a strong household disinfectant.... that should give you a clue why many people think it is cruel to use living creatures such as Damselfish to aid cycling.
ps- please someone correct me if i am wrong.... i havent read up on the cycle in quite awhile. This was jsut from memory.
 
willie_6

willie_6

Member
Wow!! So if what your saying is true, then a tank should run from 30-60 days empty until it is cycled??
 
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