Yep, it's the best value there is.
The more live sand you add the faster the bed will be healthy but the sand bed is rarely on the critical path to having a mature aquarium.
You can certainly mix the two imo. Time would depend on how much live vs. regular sand you use. More live sand= less time for regular sand to become "live".
Thanks, appreciate it....i have been reading quite a bit and several sites and articles say that it is no problem then some say not to. From my research this seems to be the most credible source i've found, so thanks again.
Microwave your sand, bake it at 1,000 degrees and otherwise sterilize it. Then put it in your aquarium, add water and give it time. Eventually you'll have live sand, b/c bacteria are everywhere.
Buying live sand merely speeds up the process.
Originally Posted by vince-1961 http:///forum/post/3109158
Microwave your sand, bake it at 1,000 degrees and otherwise sterilize it. Then put it in your aquarium, add water and give it time. Eventually you'll have live sand, b/c bacteria are everywhere.
Buying live sand merely speeds up the process.
Where will the sandbed infauna come from if all you have is bacteria in your sand? Some of it can come from live rock but for a healthy sandbed you really need at least a small amount of real live sand added to your sandbed from time to time.
Quote:
Originally Posted by vince-1961http:///t/363471/live-sand-question-can-you-mix-live-sand-with-regular-to-seed-it#post_3109158
Microwave your sand, bake it at 1,000 degrees and otherwise sterilize it. Then put it in your aquarium, add water and give it time. Eventually you'll have live sand, b/c bacteria are everywhere.Buying live sand merely speeds up the process.
Should I do this to the regular sand before i mix it with the live sand. Or is it not necessary?
Quote:
Originally Posted by vince-1961http:///t/363471/live-sand-question-can-you-mix-live-sand-with-regular-to-seed-it#post_3109158
Microwave your sand, bake it at 1,000 degrees and otherwise sterilize it. Then put it in your aquarium, add water and give it time. Eventually you'll have live sand, b/c bacteria are everywhere.
Buying live sand merely speeds up the process.
Isn't this how you create glass? I could be wrong.... Probably am.....
Buy sand and add some live to seed it as you said, it does work that way. That is how I transferred my 55g to my 90 with out using any of my old sand with out any deaths in live stock. I used 60 regular sand with 30lbs of live on top of it. Worked fine for me.