When does the sand go in
- Thread starter sgarron
- Start date
papagimp
COMAS Rocks!
Personal preference, adding it prior to the cycle will just cycle the sand along with the rock, live sand doesn't need to be cycled, but it's certainly going to boost the bacteria and cause a faster cycle this way. Adding it after the rock has cycled isn't going to phase anything either. I'd add it prior to the rock myself, unless you are just tossing the rock in, letting it cycle and then going to worry about aquascaping.
Another train of thought, some people prefer to add their live rock and then put the sand in, the sand built up around the base of the rocks will help support the structure, while sitting the rock directly on top can cause a more unstable structure if a fish were to burrow underneath a ledge. ( I have my rock just sitting on my sandbed, no problems currently because of it)
Another train of thought, some people prefer to add their live rock and then put the sand in, the sand built up around the base of the rocks will help support the structure, while sitting the rock directly on top can cause a more unstable structure if a fish were to burrow underneath a ledge. ( I have my rock just sitting on my sandbed, no problems currently because of it)
Shagsbeard
New member
Live sand is a waste of money in a tank with live rock in it. The bacteria from the live rock will quickly populate a sandbed.
I'm a fan of the order "water, some rock, sand (wait), more rock (wait), cleanup crew (wait), first fish/corals" as a progression of starting a tank. There are others with different strategies that have sound reasoning. Very few people here consider live sand a useful practice.
I'm a fan of the order "water, some rock, sand (wait), more rock (wait), cleanup crew (wait), first fish/corals" as a progression of starting a tank. There are others with different strategies that have sound reasoning. Very few people here consider live sand a useful practice.
papagimp
COMAS Rocks!
Bingo. All about personal preference. It'll take about a year or so for the tank to fully mature anyways, and by then, you wouldn't be able to tell a difference in the quality of sand with either option chosen.
Shagsbeard does have a good point, I wasted a couple hundred on live sand when I set up my first tank, never going to do that one again. All the tanks I've used dead dry sand in, takes bout 3 months for the sand to look just as good as the 2 year old stuff in my 55g.
Shagsbeard does have a good point, I wasted a couple hundred on live sand when I set up my first tank, never going to do that one again. All the tanks I've used dead dry sand in, takes bout 3 months for the sand to look just as good as the 2 year old stuff in my 55g.
