should I see life in my live sand?

[fulcrum]

Or are the critters on the microscopic scale?

 

[buzz]

It depends...most are microscopic, but you will develop copepods, possibly amphipods, etc...you can see those. Occasionally, you will get some fanworms, etc...
Sometimes, it takes a while before you start really noticing the life.

 

[tracklighter]

If you bought the bagged kind, you probably won't see any critters. If you bought the kind from the tank sold in the LFS or even online, you will see macroscopic stuff also. Both contain microscopic organisms.
I bought my LS online, and it has tons of little fellas that I can see. It was harvested offshore.

 

[fulcrum]

cool, thanks.
I bought the bag kind. Some sort of indonesian black sand. It looks cool, but has a bit of a dusting problem. Fine black powder gets on everything.

 

[ekclark]

Sometimes it can take a while to start seeing life...sometimes it hides until better settled, sometimes it is still an egg, etc. I have had the best luck finding these critters at night. Use a red bulbed light and you will likely see all sorts of strange new life. It is one of coolet parts of the hobby!

 

[zfd6]

I used Natures Ocean Bio-active (in a bag) and seeded it with a couple pounds of sand out of my LFS tank. Then added 25 lbs or so of live rock and I have worms and pods that are visible. Tank has been going for a couple of months.
zfd6