Live Sand Question

[cashmoney6980]

Well ive completed building my sump and stand, and am now starting to gather everything else I'll need. I've decided on utilizing a DSB in my middle chamber which is 11x12x11 and going about 5 inches deep. I've been looking into getting aragonite sand for it, as I understand this is some of the best to use for a DSB. To help seed the sand, should I get about 5-10lbs of live sand, and do the rest just plain dry sand? Or will this throw the tank all out of wack and force it to start a new cycle? I plan on taking a small-to-medium piece of live rock out of the DT and placing it in the middle chamber of the sump and replacing it with dry base rock... Will that one piece of LR be enough to start seeding the dry sand?

I'm sorry for posting all these questions about anything and everything! I just want to make sure I do this sump right cuz it's the first time setting one of these up for me. You guys have already been a huge help to me, and I appreciate any and all input!

 

[Rutrag]

The general consensus seems to be that live sand is of dubious value at best. I would go with straight aragonite sand and seed it with a piece of live rock or a handful of sand from a healthy and established tank. Using dry sand should not start any kind of mini cycle as it is biologically inert to start. There is nothing to die off to create an ammonia spike.

 

[cashmoney6980]

Thank you much for the response!

I figured dry sand wouldn't do anything, just wasnt sure if a few pounds of live sand would screw up my system or not. I don't have any access to anyone's established active sand, and the substrate in my DT is crushed coral, so I think I'll just stick a few pieces of live rock in there from the DT and let it do it's thing.