twflys Posted January 16, 2003 Share Posted January 16, 2003 And how long does it take, I too think the prices for live rock/sand is quite expensive. However, if you think I'll be able to mix argonite, plain white sand and live sand, how long will it take for the substrate to become alive? If I understand correctly, live sand is just sand with micro organisms living in it, correct? Maybe that's what you mean by seeding it..... just allowing mother nature to take it's course and populate all the substrate. This is understandable for the sand....... but, seems a bit tougher to do with the rock........... enlighten me! Link to comment
twflys Posted January 16, 2003 Author Share Posted January 16, 2003 Better yet........ I'll find a part time job at a pet store for a few weeks. Link to comment
tinyreef Posted January 16, 2003 Share Posted January 16, 2003 ime there's no set time frame for seeding as it depends upon the tank conditions, mobility of the organisms, food sources, quality of source rock and appropriateness of the target rock. all that said, i usually use fiji (uncured for startups) and lava rock. i occasionally use tufa but favor lava much more. many peeps have concerns about it but i always pre-soak the lava in FW for a couple of days to clean and leach out anything. i consider the base rock 'live' when it's pretty encrusted with coralline (as a measuring stick) which can take months. it's probably 'seeded' after a couple months. the sand can be seen from its cross section to gauge the level of microfauna residing in it. Link to comment
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.