Sand in FOWLR

[jsolomon]

I have a 92 gallon bow front tank (looks like 1/4 of a circle). I currently have a crushed coral and dolomite base, 100lbs of base rock, 600GPH filter, 2 regal tangs, 2 true percs, and 1 false perc. I would like to purchase 100lbs of Live Fiji Rock in the near future and switch over to a sand bottom. My question is, do I need to purchase live sand, or can I just purchase real fine grit marine sand. I want my tank to look like the ocean in the bahamas, the real white real fine grit sand. I dont want to have to deal with live sand if I dont have to.

 

[scott270]

i disagree you should not mix ls with cc, it is pointless,best bet is to remove the cc and go with ls

 

[fishyclown]

I'm in the same boat, only I've already made the decision to switch over to a DSB. I have 200 lbs. of Southdown sand and got rid of my bristle worm infested CC. The only thing I need to know is what do I do to prepare the sand to be used in my tank. I've transfered everything I could into a 30 gal temporary tank and all is well there. I'd like to bring the 70 gal. tank back in and begin setting it up this weekend, but I want to do everything right. I've got tons of patience, too.
So... what do I do with this sand? What's my first step? I've looked in the books that I have for the hobby and all three of them discuss undergravel filters and CC, but nada about sand. I appreciate any help. Thanks!
Shelly

 

[scott270]

got it sorry for this non reading on my part,if you have lots of patience, i would just put the sand in (maybe rinse it a bit) let it settle and go from there

 

[fishyclown]

Thanks SOOOO much! That's exactly what I wanted to hear! I kind of assumed that since I wasn't subjecting any fishies to breathing the silty stuff that I would be okay with just adding it straight from the bag. I have some LR that I'll be taking from the temp. tank to help start the newly setup 70gal. tank. I also plan to get some Cycle to help with a "quick-pop." Only, this time I'll remember to put in in the fridge after I open it!
My next question is... how long should I wait before I add live sand to seed the Southdown? I heard that one of the lfs here had some great sand with tons of life in it and I can hardly wait (but I will if need be) to see what it's like. Does the tank need to fully cycle before I introduce that kind of sand? I DO want everything to live... So, what do you think?
Thanks for your thoughts...
Shelly