bagged sand

[bdmiller]

Was at my lfs the other day and saw they have aragonite sand in bags. It says it's for reef aquariums because it has the beneficial bacteria. Is this stuff okay to use?

 

And how much would I need for a 10 gallon aquarium?

 

Thanks everyone.

[Bocephous]

I used a #10bag of sand. Worked well for me.

[Christopher Marks]

The bagged live sand is not good to add to an established nano reef, because after sitting on a shelf for so long, much of the bacteria have died and all that is left is ammonia. However, if you are setting up a new nano reef, this sand will help to get your cycle started.

[Metznreef]

i used it from the start in my nano and i've yet to have any ammonia, nitrite or nitrate and i have a fish in the tank. i'm somewhat confused myself.

[Cam barr]

what chris is tryin to say is if you have an establised reef it would not be wize to uze the bagged sand because some times they sit on the shelf for months on end. this sand is fine for a tank thet is just being set up or during cycling .if you have a tank that is set up and done cycling get a sand that does not ahve the liquid in it or dry sand that has a vrey fine grain size in some time this sand will become live too.

cam

[Satchmo]

It would be cheaper to buy southdown or playsand and seed it with sand from an established tank. That way you'll get the bacteria you're looking for, and you'll get sandbed critters that the bagged sand doesn't have. Just a thought.

 

As for how much you'll need, that's up to you. I used about 2" in my 10g. I like to see the cross section of sand against the front glass... it's like a worm farm.