is live sand really worth it?
Yes - if it's good quality live sand.
do you guys recomend live sand as the gravle for the tank?
Speaking only for myself here - I recommend either 100% live sand if you can afford it, but most folks that go with a deep sandbed use somewhere around 70-90% dry sand, and add some live sand and/or live rock to help seed it with life.
or should i get that 2 dollar a pound coral stuff at my lfs
I have before - I like the benefits of a having a deep living sandbed over the crushed coral stuff any day.
should i get it online?
This is normally the best in my opinion - if the live sand comes from the ocean. You're paying for the "life" not the sand.
Unless a lfs has access to live sand from the sea - I'd pass.
should i be getting fishies and stuff online? or at my lfs, or both.....
This is entirely up to you. No one can say you "should", only that if you shop around online - in many cases you find what you're looking for at a better price. In some cases - not.
One thing to consider - the term "live sand" means different things to different people.
Some consider live sand as sand that only has colonies of living beneficial bactera already established on the sand grains.
Other's consider live sand as sand that comes direct from the ocean, and will contain not only bacteria, but also has small pods, worms and other inverts - that give more visible "life" to the sand. Over time - if conditions are good, these sandbed critters reproduce in the DSB and this is what some mean with the term "seeding" the sandbed.
Live rock will do much of the same - again - if it's good quality live rock that has these critters in it from the start.
