Live Sand Dead Now?

[ChiTownRomeo]

So my brother called me very upset with himself cause he had 80 pounds of store bought live sand & I guess tried to rush the job, he filled the tank up and put the sand in in hopes of it being settled when he got home from work. He called me from work and said he totally forgot to put the salt in the water cause he was so used to freshwater tanks. Is his live sand completely dead now? Should he toss it and get new sand. He spent close to $80 for it. what can he do? Its Ocean Direct Live Sand. Thanks Everyone.

 

[Mrc8858]

Live sand is a gimmick for the most part.. but if it was alive it is dead now from no salt. You are much better off just buying regular "dead" sand and seed it with LR or a scoop of sand from an established tank

 

[Schism]

So my brother called me very upset with himself cause he had 80 pounds of store bought live sand & I guess tried to rush the job, he filled the tank up and put the sand in in hopes of it being settled when he got home from work. He called me from work and said he totally forgot to put the salt in the water cause he was so used to freshwater tanks. Is his live sand completely dead now? Should he toss it and get new sand. He spent close to $80 for it. what can he do? Its Ocean Direct Live Sand. Thanks Everyone.

Take all the sand out. Rinse it very very good with ro/di. And place back in the tank after salt is mixed in. The sand is dead now but you want to rinse as much of that dieoff out of the sand. You do not need live sand. Sand will become live over time with the addition of live rock and or a few cups of sand from an established tank.

Always better to by dry sand in my opinion, way cheaper to. Tell him to consider it a lesson learned.

 

[Newfiereefer]

+1 for gimmick the bacteria in the bag would most like be dead before going in the tank anyway since it dose need a food source and being in a sealed bag that is not any temp controlled it is not getting any of this and will die rater quickly , unless its straight from the manufacture .
That's me 2 cents worth any who.

 

[Ingy]

Agree with everything but the rinsing part. Seeing as he is about to cycle the tank anyhoo why not let then dead bacteria start the cycle?

 

[ChiTownRomeo]

ok so take all the sand out the tank and rinse it well? A lady at his LFS told him to rinse the sand and put some dead base rock in the tank. Then seed that with a biological additive like Seachem Stability or Bio Spira. And also add some GARF grunge and that will restore the life in the sand.

 

[mr_X]

You can use a raw cocktail shrimp to start the cycle. No need to buy all that other stuff mentioned. Leave the sand in, add salt, add rock, then the shrimp, and wait a few weeks.

 

[crister13]

I would get live rock just for the worms and stuff that come in it.

 

[Schism]

Agree with everything but the rinsing part. Seeing as he is about to cycle the tank anyhoo why not let then dead bacteria start the cycle?

Because that dead bacteria also contributes highly to the phosphate cycle and becomes trapped in the sand bed. It will leach out over time, causing algae problems.

No reason not to rinse it. You can start the cycle by dosing ammonia or dead shrimp.

 

[Ingy]

I'll but that for a $

 

[ChiTownRomeo]

Well he decided to ditch the sand all together. He actually tossed the sand and cleaned the tank. He said he will go with a different type of sand cause the carib sea sand has ALOT of rocks and shells in it. Thanks everyone for your input.

 

[mr_X]

They are all made from calcium, as is the sand.