Live Sand?

[Leah]

If you already have some I would just use it, maybe your friend could give you a little of
their live. I have used both and it all works, pro's and con's for both.

[sarzeff]

I currently have argonite substrate in there. I wasn't planning on getting live sand but was a little curious about if it was worth it.

[Leah]

I think it boils down to preference. If it is a fish only tank I would just do what you are doing.

[sarzeff]

Good to know, I was planning on just fish and live rock. If I wanted to add some live sand, can I mix it in with the current substrate?

[Leah]

Yes

[sarzeff]

You're very helpful How many pounds would be good for a 25 gallon? Dimensions 24w x 12.5d

I think I might just get some sand, live or normal, because I like how it looks.

[Leah]

I used 60lbs in my 72 gal so you could probably use 20lbs as a rough estimate.

[SeaHorse_Fanatic]

Most of my reefer friends & I have come to the consensus that buying "live" sand is falling for a marketing ploy.

Consider a few factors:

Bacteria is what makes "live" sand, "live".
Bacteria multiply like crazy when nutrients are present.
Before they began charging a premium for bagged "live" sand, the standard practice was to get regular aragonite sand & a cup or two of old sand from an established tank to add the bacteria into the new sandbed.
Heck, even the bacteria in your live rock should add bacteria to the new sandbed to help make it "live" eventually.
Therefore, no need to buy bagged "live" sand.

JMHO,

Anthony

[sarzeff]

Yeah I plan on taking it slow with the fish. Clean up crew first, and slowly as well. I think just having them in there will be really neat to see. Even after having the tank sitting her empty I am excited to get the rock into it lol

[Leah]

In a 25 gal that deep (2-3 inches) of a sand bed will leave less room for rock