live sand vs. dead sand

[Ron..... the cheeb]

Greetings. I am researching nano reef tanks right now. My current question is about sand. I was told by a couple lfs guys, that if I am using adequate, quality lr, I can use dry sand, and maybe seed it w/ 1lb from an established lfs reef tank, and it will 'become' live sand. The only reason for this is to save money, so I wouldnt consider it unless it works quite well.

 

thanks for your help.......

[Ron..... the cheeb]

(in order to better clarfiy my question)

I realize that seeding sand with some live will eventually work, based on other threads in the beginners forum. My question mainly refers to the overall quality of the result. I am a beginner, obviously, and am seeking input as to whether a beginner, with greater risk of screwup, would be better off making a $30 investment in a 20lb bag of live aragonite at the lfs.

[OxInYourBox]

If you are referring to the prepackaged bags that are "live" with some water in them don't waste your money. You're much better off buying a # or so (depending on what your tank size is) of LS from the LFS (or finding some local reefers and getting some-most are pretty cool and if you goto a reefclub meeting you'll meet lots of reefers and they can become a good source of advice and frags) and use it in conjunction with your LR to seed the dead/dry sand. That's how I've done all of my tanks in the past with the exception of my first tank being seeded solely by the LR that I had in there. Be sure to wait and let the tank mature a bit after the cycle. It will be better off in the long run. Good luck and post pics.

 

Ox