I WANTED TO KNOW IF ANYONE HAS TRIED USING PLAY SAND IN THEIR SALTWATER AQUARIUMS AND IF SO HAS IT HAD AN AFFECT ON THE FISH THAT ARE LIVING IN THE WATER.
Live Rock from Beach
- Thread starter Chago09
- Start date
WHY ARE YOU TYPING IN ALL CAPS? AND WHY DON'T YOU MAKE YOUR OWN THREAD?
I use play sand in all of my freshwater aquariums and brackish tanks. I don't see why you can't use it in a saltwater aquarium. Just be sure to wash it very very well. Why wouldn't you want to use livesand though?
I use play sand in all of my freshwater aquariums and brackish tanks. I don't see why you can't use it in a saltwater aquarium. Just be sure to wash it very very well. Why wouldn't you want to use livesand though?
Scuba Kid;962344; said:
by your definition of "live sand" what exactly in the sand is alive? i dont know about you, but "live sand" that is sealed with no oxygen can still be alive? its not kept cool to keep the metabolism down in the bacteria of "live sand." obviously you dont know what your talking about because there is no possible way that anything can be alive inside a bag for who knows how long.
have you seen what happens to live rock when its dead? do you know what it smells like? how come live sand isnt the same?
well illegal is illegal. they can't tell where, or how you got it.
the carcase of the bald egal is illegal to posses. even if you found it on the side of the road.
good luck with it tho.
the carcase of the bald egal is illegal to posses. even if you found it on the side of the road.
good luck with it tho.
sQwiReL;967204; said:
sQwiReL;967204; said:
Oh brother, Ok, alright, you asked for it, so here it goes:
Here i will start slowly for you, "Live Sand" is a term commonly used for substrates which have been collected and removed from natural marine bodies of water. Obviously the purpose of such being for use in the home/commercial aquarium. The sand is kept wet with natural sea water of which it was collected from, housed in a sealed bag or container to prevent evaporation (let me point out thogh that this is not the only way to purchase live sand, and many places also have bins (tanks) full of it for sale) . This sand is called "Live Sand" because it contains a plethora of macro and micro fauna. Within a typical collection you can find pieces of crushed coral, coral sand, shells, etc..... Still with me or should I back up for you?
Looking further into the "Live" components of the "Live Sand", I will list a few off for you and if I use too big of words, feel free to befriend your local dictionary. Aerobic as well as Anaerobic bacteria, Isopods, Annelids, Copepods, Nematodes, Mollusks, Forams, and other Crustaceans are all common residents within this sand as well as many many many more! The advantages of including live sand far outweigh any disadvantages you could come up with just to argue, so lets nix that now. First of all, it looks better than a bare, glass bottom or egg crate/etc. It also provides refuge for those fish that bury in the substrate and invertebrates that hide and reproduce in the sand. In turn, these invertebrates (Such as zooxanthellae bearing invertebrates), can provide an important food source for fish and invertebrates that feed on infaunal animals. Most importantly, the bacteria rich sand will help reduce ammonia to nitrite, nitrite to nitrate and the anaerobic forms will break this down into nitrous oxide, which will diffuse from the aquarium. The sand is a natural denitrifier, in that it will help to control the build-up waste product. It is also a great way to kick start a new aquarium with nitrifying bacteria. If that were not enough live sand will also help maintain your pH, alkalinity and calcium and strontium levels!
When it comes to "How alive is it really", well that can depend on a number of factors, from the bodies it was colected from, the collection technique that was used, how it was prepared and packaged, and how long it has to go before being re-introduced into a main body (I.E - your tank). The smell and appearance of live sand is far from the smell or appearance of uncured, decaying live rock, not to mention that their properties and process' (collection/shipping/prep/holding) are day/night from one another by standard, so offering that as a comparison does nothing but emphasize your lack of education and understanding of such an elementary, but vital part of a healthy system.
Unless you wanted to break out your microscope and run a cross-analysis of cultures from every bag, of every shipment, from every collection site, taking into consideration every environmental influence....too see your average "Live count" then there is no real way to determine the exact quality of what you get. But then again, you would also have to know the difference between quality vs. quantity (and several other aspects) when it comes to these little guys, which would mean you might want to take at least your most basic 101 in a few areas such as Microbiology, Parisitology, Bacteriology, Marine Ecology, your good ol M.Biology, and many many more in order to accurately research, and produce such data. Furthermore when looking into the classifications of bacteria, you should note that not all require high or even moderate levels of oxygen, and some require none in its pure form, not to mention that even those which do require it, are on a minute scale in comparison to other organisms, and if you want to get technical, fyi all those bags which hold the sand, are infused with oxygen when they are sealed. Everything has a balance and quite frankly, to save myself from getting into a long-winded lecture on microbiology, I will keep it at that - there is a balance in everything and where one dies, another is reproduced and waste is always broken down into new nutrients for others. There is always natural die off with nearly everything including rock and corals, but keeping in mind the number of bacteria and organisms within this sand number well into the billions, chances are you are still going to have "Live sand" in all essence of the word, by the time you purchase it and bring it home. There is so much more I could get into, and as much as I would love to continue this, I have things to do, so I will stop for now. Did that answer your questions?
Ok well considering that you had nothing more to say, I guess it did answer your questions, LOL. Good.
not to steal the thread but if i was to collect live rock....because i dive....what would be the best way to prepare it for my tank?
bigpeacock;1034563; said:
First and foremost, make sure that whatever you are removing directly from the ocean is legal. There are various permits required and/or restrictions when it comes to direct removal of living or structural items from natural bodies of water. Check your local laws and guidelines (good place to start is by checking with your local Fish and Game authority), before you start. If you are told you are allowed to do this, then keep in mind that even though you are removing it directly from the source and taking it home (thus skipping the standard steps of collection, packaging, shipping, etc.), your tank water is still in no way in comparison to the ocean when it comes to stability and nutrient rich base, so you will still end up with some die-off, which is why it is always a good idea to cure your rock outside of your main tank. A shallow, long tank is usually best for this (we have huge troughs, but something similar will work). You will want a strong current in one direction, (think about a heavily moving stream or river).. The easiest way to achieve this is to have your water source on one side, and your intake on the other, you want the water to run and cycle just as a belt on a treadmill would. And dont forget to keep the elements/min/vit's elevated too, as this will aid in tissue replenishment and cell repair on the living organisms. If all you can manage is a standard tank, thats fine, simply leave the water levels lower than you would if it were a display tank, and equipt it with a few strong power heads and a good filtering unit. In this set-up, multi-directional current is fine as long as it is strong. You need the water to be turbulent to flush out dead or dying organisms and wash away decaying plant matter. It is important to also turn your rocks, move them around, and re-situated them all every couple days as to make sure all sides and every crevice is attended too. If you take them straight from the ocean and you bring them straight home, this process is easy because you will only need to do it for about a week to allow it to adjust from ocean water to your water, whereas if you had bought is uncured, or even cured, but shipped from afar, you would want to do this process for a minimum of a week or two for shipped rock, and several more for uncred. But in addition, another item i use when prep'ing rock, is Kent Rock-Prep..Now this does not substitute for curing your rock, but it works wonders for a final scrub down before adding to your tank, and is made with safe chemicals and will not harm even the most decorative rock, nor will it mess with your params like some others will. I always use it as "the last step" before adding my rock, here is a cute little picture for ya, LOL.
