How to make live sand???

[LittleParr]

Can live sand be made in a LFS (or at home) by curing crushed coral or aragonite with live rock? Is this good to use or should you buy real live sand from the ocean?

 

[drillsar]

Sand will come live in time from your rock, But if you get some real live sand like a cup or two from a established tank will help. when sand is dead you may see more outbeaks of algae on the sand.

 

[steve-s]

Be sure when aquiring sand from an establish tank you ask if copper or other "meds" have ever been used in the tank. There is a good possibility of contaminating your system. Also be sure you QT the sand for 6 weeks before you use it if from a system containing fish.

Do not use sand from the ocean unless it's away from populated areas and within the statutes of Canadian conservation laws. It can be a real risk especially in your case since it's a major shipping area and a cold water species population.

Cheers
Steve

 

[LittleParr]

I'm guessing live rock and sand from our neck of the woods (Newfoundland) wouldn't be much good as most of the species living in it would be cold water species and would die in a tropical tank.

 

[LittleParr]

Is live sand you see advertised in your lfs collected from the ocean, or is it crushed coral infused with live rock in a fish tank?

 

[steve-s]

More commonly it's the stuff collected from the bins of LR curing tanks if truely "live sand". LS should be loaded with organisms/life, not just wet sand with bacteria. The stuff you find on the LFS shelf is primarily a wasted effort and money, it really amounts to nothing. If you wish to futher seed/introduce diversity to your tank, wait until after the initial cycle and add it after that. Any amount of LR will offer some additional life but you can also introduce microfauna quite easily and cost effectively.

http://ipsf.com

http://garf.org/algae2/janitor.html#grunge

Cheers
Steve

 

[crook280]

i'm also looking to make some live sand. i found this site here in a post. http://www.premiumaquatics.com/Merchant2/merchant.mv
i was thinking of getting a few pounds of rock pool crude and a couple bags of the fiji pink sand. would that be good?

 

[LittleParr]

Steve-s, you seem to know a thing or two about live sand. I'd like to have a good amount of live rock and live sand in my tank- the live rock is easy to come by, but good live sand is not. What would be the best way to begin my tank with good live sand? How do I add microfauna, especially for sand sifting fish like blennies?

 

[steve-s]

i'm also looking to make some live sand. i found this site here in a post. http://www.premiumaquatics.com/Merchant2/merchant.mv
i was thinking of getting a few pounds of rock pool crude and a couple bags of the fiji pink sand. would that be good?

Basically the same stuff I was refering to above, a few lbs should work just fine.

Cheers
Steve

 

[steve-s]

Steve-s, you seem to know a thing or two about live sand. I'd like to have a good amount of live rock and live sand in my tank- the live rock is easy to come by, but good live sand is not. What would be the best way to begin my tank with good live sand? How do I add microfauna,

To be completely honest, a major amount of microfauna will establish itself from the LR alone. The best use for this type of "fauna addition" is with tanks that use dead base rock, little in the way of LR or the populations cannot keep up with predation. On the latter, that can get pretty $$ and usually not keep up anyway. If using a good quantity of LR, the fauna kits are really not all that necessary. Doesn't mean you can't add diversity, just that it won't make or break your sytem without their addition. You'd be suprised what you'll find months, even years after the innitial cycle. I still find new things all the time.

especially for sand sifting fish like blennies?

Be very careful on which of these species you choose. Many are quite difficult to feed and honestly damage the "ecosystem" of a healthy tank. They are also not good additions for smaller tanks. They can descimate a 50 gal tank in a few months. Many that do accept prepared foods will also not live their full life due to the lack of a natural diet. What you propose is not impossible by any means, just choose the species wisely, do alot of research before you purchase and be sure the tank is suitabley matured, large enough and ready for such an addition.

Cheers
Steve

 

[LittleParr]

So maybe for me then, just to add some crushed coral and as much live rock as possible would be okay. I'd add the live rock to the cc, cycle, let it stabilize, mature, and add fish. I'm guessing that would add fauna to the cc and make it 'live sand'????

 

[steve-s]

Yes, the rock will seed the substrate making it "live" in short order. You can add as much LR as you like (or LR/base rock) in order to get an amount that is pleasing to you and at the same time being a good bacterial filter. I would however not suggest CC as your substrate, oolitic aragonite is a much better choice.

Cheers
Steve

 

[LittleParr]

Aragonite is better? What's oolitic aragonite and where can you get it?

 

[steve-s]

If you're lucky enough, many types of playsand are aragonite and quite cheap. Might be sparse at this time a year though, better availability in the summer, check at HD or other similar large chain stores. You can test the sand for aragonite with regular white table vinegar. Place a small amount of sand in a bowl and add a few tblspn of vinegar. If the sand fizzles, it's aragonite. If not it's silica. Ooltic is just a fancy word for small round and calcerous which is prefered in a marine set up over that of silica which is flat, sharp edged and inert.

If you cannot find the aragonite cheaply at the hardware stores, the LFS will most definately have it as will e-tailers. Just stick with the dry stuff, not the wet "waste of money" products. My personal preference is Caribsea's Aragamax select.

Cheers
Steve

 

[LittleParr]

Thanks for the info- have you ever used or heard of the tahitian moon sand?

 

[steve-s]

Tahitian moon sand is a non aragonite black sand (synthetic). Not exactly sure what it's made from but my guess is silica based. Some love the look of it but if you want first hand experience, I would suggest you ask Hara. I believe she has some in one of her many tanks.

Cheers
Steve

 

[LittleParr]

I'd like to have a couple of small blennies and gobies hopping around on my live rock. What type of species are the best to chose, and what type of aragonite works best?

 

[LittleParr]

I should add that i am talking about the substrate as these fish sift through the sand...

 

[steve-s]

What size of tank? There are actually few if any sand sifting Blennioid that would be considered healthy additions. Most do not fair well for the simple reason the average tank cannot keep up with their overall nutritional needs even if accepting prepared foods. It a decision that should be researched carefully, please do not impulse buy.

As for the aragonite, something on the smaller side is best IME. Really depends on the depth your looking for. My preference is about 1-1½" so I chose 1.2 mm and smaller. The deeper you get (not my preference or recommendation) the more controlled the grain size you will want. The shallower it is the less important but with the finer sands, the more likely it will aid in denitrification at shallower depth.

Cheers
Steve

 

[LittleParr]

So tanks with finer sands should have a shallower depth, and larger sized aragonite can have a deeper depth? Are there any suitable blennies for 33-75g home aquarium (undecided)? What about gobies? Sorry for the large number of questions in this posting...