Live Sand VS. Sand I take from the Ocean

I just buy sand collected from the gulf coast. It's this unique black color. Cant seem to get anything to survive in my tank though....


But fer serious just get some plain old sand and get LR like a few others have suggested you do. The whole bacteria in a bottle thing is widely debated. Makes you wonder how living organisms can stay alive without food and in a bottle sometimes for years at a time. I know there are cultures you can buy that are refrigerated and those are probably a better bet, but they are kind of expensive and a waste of money IMO. I tried doing everything I could to rush the process when I started but in the end none of it really helped from what I observed and I ended up letting nature take its course with the bacteria. Just give it time. If you build it they will come.

 

purchasing bacteria is about as good idea as it sounds...lol.... +1 to time.

I disagree that there is something special about the sand dredged out of the ocean by company vs yourself, other than that they used a crane to pull it out and damaged the sea floor to do it. You and your bucket aren't so bad....but in FL they would get upset.... Live sand is protected here, but probably not in VA (?) It would probably be live if you got it that way, otherwise I wouldn't really buy into "live sand" you will have to grow it for awhile to make it really "live". You might not be able to get aragonite, but you would be surprised how often regular old silica sand is called aragonite these days anyway.

 

So you've setup a tank with local beach sand? What about grabbing sand from the local James river? Salt water it is. Right off of Yorktown Beach. Where we won our independence from England. +2? Haha. Anyway, it's the closest versus going to VA Beach. It's not being frugal with the cash, but prefer free sand if it's nearly the same and spend the cash elsewhere. Unless it's even the slightest bit risky.

 

i hate to break it to ya but sand from the james river isn't exactly the same same you would see in a reef system, so if you want a river looking reef go with the river sand, but i would stick with what was mentioned before.

 

Haha, that's true. More brownish, huh? Although, the beach's (VA Beach) sand is probably just about the same color.

 

most beach sand will wind up looking like any other playsand... brownish. unless you live in the Caribbean or something where its WHITE beaches

 

buy some dry reef sand and just seed it with a friends or couple diff friends old filter floss,sand,some of there bioballs,liverock the water there using. You could use brightwells MB7 is a great product. All of are beaches in florida are topped with a silica sand so unless you boat out to a reef to collect it ,its trash.

 

You're not funny.

 

i wouldnt use the sand from va beach..its alittle to brown for me...chicks beach seems to have a lighter color...just something to think on(i live in chesapeake btw) and imo reef tanks look better with a brighter color sand....but thats just my 2cents