Boxter wrote:
Isn't with the sand, you would still have the detris and you would stillneed to vaccum lightly to get rid of it?
Not if it is a
DSB. Vacuuming a
DSB would probably kill all the infauna in the bed that actually helps make the
DSB work. That infauna eats all the "junk" that fall and gets into the
DSB so you actually never have to worry about. If you had a shallow sand bed, then you would have to vacuum it regularly.
RubixCube wrote:
Is there a brand name that I could go by when looking for the live sand? What should I be looking for
No there isn't any "brand". The "live sand" that they sell in the
LFS in bags isn't really that live at all. It contains no "critters" and probably no bacteria as well. You can ask your
LFS or a local reefer you know to give you a good cup of sand out of an established tank. Make sure any sand you get comes out of a coral tank, though. That way you can be assured that the sand should not have any copper in it from any previous medications. That will help seed your bed with "critters" and you will have
LS in no time. If you can't do this, then you can buy "kits" on the internet that come all the critters so you can seed you own bed. I got mine from
www.inlandaquatics.com
im not sure if any of the stores around here carry Southdown, is there a place I could order it or do anyone know of a good substitute. I have some sand here from when I had a fresh water, one bag of fine and one bag of medium, is that any good?
I couldn't find Southdown either, so I broke down and bought Caribsea Aragamax sand from the
LFS. It was very expense. I think it was around $25 for a 30lb bag. But that is all I could do. If you are wanting a
DSB, you need to make sure the sand you buy has a certain grain size. If you don't know what your old sand is made off and its grain size, you should buy something else. Here is a great article on
DSB and it will explain everything you need to know:
http://www.rshimek.com/reef/sediment.htm