Which Sand?

[bhojnikhil]

Hi,
Im new to this marine fish tank stuff..
Im making a small 55 gallon tank, got some live some rock and corals from one of my friends, i was wondering what Sand i should use? The regular sand? OR the live sand?What difference does it make?
or can i add a mixture of both??
Any suggestions before i start up?
Thanks in advance

 

[johnny roastbeef]

You dont need live sand, in my opinion, its not any better.
Get yourself a nice aragonite sand and fresh live rock. The sand will become live fairly quickly. My suggestion is to get some ocean-fresh live rock. It will increase your cycle time, but you will get things like worms, pods, macro algae and micro stars from the rock which will quickly inhabit your tank. If you

 

[FLESHY]

+1 to the above...live sand is a crock, and after it is bagged and sealed and gets to you, there isnt much in there that you want in your tank. Also that send tends to be lower grade IMO.

Get yourself some aragonite...I steer clear of the sugar grained because I think that it is a pain, but that is just me.

 

[deadmeat]

+2 on the Argonite. Its the best way to go and will help you steer clear of unwanted silicates as well.

Tom