Starting 55 gal salt water

[Gibb72]

New to this site and starting a salt water 55gal. Looking to know how much sand to put in the bottom of the tank, how many 20lbs bags do I need to start with? Do I need to add a bag of live sand to start ? have been told yes and no. Looking for some help thanks

 

[nwsharksfan]

1 lb per gallon - but this changes depending on dimensions of your tank. I I don't buy into the live sand thing. You have a sealed bag with sand and water, no oxygen source, sitting on a store shelf for who knows how long - how much could survive that. You end up buying 15 lbs of sand and 5 lbs of stale water.

 

[bazeball05]

I say enough to cover 1.5 inches of the bottom. I used a blend of live and dry sand. Helps so much. Live sand works... there are actually holes in the bag. It's not stale water. They have an expiration date on them lol. Trust me, Live sand and live rock all the way

 

[Jbaygurl78745]

I used live sand and love it n it worked for me as well and also have live rock.

 

[jjamontan]

You don't need live sand to start with. Dry sand will become live after awhile. Get your sand and ask people from your local reef club for a cup of there sand to seed yours.

 

[bazeball05]

You don't need live sand to start with. Dry sand will become live after awhile. Get your sand and ask people from your local reef club for a cup of there sand to seed yours.

+1 I use a mix of dry and live. The Live just cycles the tank better IMO

 

[jjamontan]

The cycle will take as long as it takes. Enjoy the build is what I say