I really want a saltwater aquarium......

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no problem at all bennerkla. It was more so for others so they would see there was already another thread with that question.
 
Hey guys, like some of you said, I've set a goal for myself.

I would like to have a 75 gallon aquarium with a stand and canopy, 2 False Percula Clown Fish, 1 Hippo Tang, 5 Green Chromis, 1 Sea Urchin, 1 Flame Angel, 2 Brittle Stars and a lot of random Hermit Crabs, snails, etc. 25 lbs of LR and 75 lbs of base rock and a 4" DSB 8)
 
benn, you asked what is "live" sand, how can it be live. The term live sand refers to the beneficial bacteria that lives in a normal body of water. This is the bacteria that breaks down fish waste, as part of the nitrgoen cycle. You can take regular dry base rock, and put it in a stocked aquarium, and it will become live rock after time...well actually aquacultured live rock to be specific. The same for sand. Good luck to ya, sounds like your doing your research, thats great. 0X
 
Live sand, or LS is natural reef coral sand that is collected live from the ocean, or non-living coral sand that is cultured to make it live. What makes it live is the microscopic biological bacteria that grows on it, and the many tiny crustaceans and other micro and macro-organisms that reside in it. Live sand can serve as the main base for biological filtration in a saltwater aquarium, while the organisms help consume organic matter in the sand bed. Some of the organisms provide a natural food source for many aquarium inhabitants as well.

What Type to Use?

There are many types of sand to choose from on the market, but sand of coral origin, such as coral sand, reef sand, crushed coral, or aragonite are best. One top choice of many expert aquarists is aragonite by CaribSea. Sand sources other than aragonite types will most likely have silicates in them, which is something you do not want in your aquarium. Silicates cause algae problems, and once introduced are next to impossible to remove.
There a three basic choices for starting an aquarium with live sand:


You can use 100% LS, which can be very costly.
You can use a 50/50 combination of LS (bought or used from an already established aquarium) with non-living sand. By mixing the two together (seeding) you save money, and the LS will convert the non-living portion of the sand into LS over a shortened period of time as the biological bacteria and the living organisms multiply and populate it.
You can use nothing but non-living sand, as all sand eventually becomes live over time. However, starting from scratch does take much longer for the cylcing process to complete its task.

HTH (y)
 
Home Depot at Forest Park in Cincinnati has/had a bunch of Southdown sand. $5 for 50 pounds.
 
No my young padawan learner...LS is usually only available at pet stores, it has to remain wet...there is some ocean water in the bag to keep all the organisms alive. LS is expensive...usually between 25 to 50 dollars for a 20 pound bag, my local PetCo sells a 10 pound bag for 25.99...ha what a rip!

Anyway southdown is good looking and most importantly sterile sand that is cheap, and thats what you should use for your DSB if your HD carries it.

You should place a thin layer of real live sand over the southdown to "seed" the sand.

That should get you goin' quite nice

Peace

The New 105
 
I'm going to be getting 5 lbs of live sand. Is that enough to get the entire DSB going in about 2 months?
 
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