Southdown Play Sand

[bmccullough]

Hello Everyone

i have a question i just bought 100 lbs of southdown sand. my question is can i make live sand from the southdown sand. i plan to put it in a large waste can put some of my aquarium water and some substrate from my aquarium in the bucket with a heater and a power head. if i do this for about a week will i get live sand? :roll:

 

[Anonymous]

Yes. the top layer will become live. But it would take longer than a week to become ALL live sand. It would become coated with bacteria sooner or later and then it'd be live sand.

B

 

[Anonymous]

just in case...

if you want to make genuine live sand you need to add some actual live sand.

you will find some outfits selling sand that they have labeled "live" that is actually just inhabited by nirtifying and denitryifing bacteria. if there is no live rock or live sand in your substrate that you plan on seeding with then this bacteria is all that you will add.

this is not what is considered "live" when discussing sand bed filtration such as a DSB.

....maybe you knew all that.

 

[bmccullough]

Thanks for the advice. i put my sand in a large trash can, with salt some old water from my cycled aquarium, more water, some salt, biozyme, and a small piece of raw fish. tomorrow i will go to my lfs and ask for some of their live sand and some live rock.

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the advice. i put my sand in a large trash can, with salt some old water from my cycled aquarium, more water, some salt, biozyme, and a small piece of raw fish. tomorrow i will go to my lfs and ask for some of their live sand and some live rock.

the live sand or rock will suffice. no need for the dead fish. just feed the inhabitants of the live media once you have it.

a small portion a few times a week is plenty.