Reef Central Online Community

Go Back   Reef Central Online Community > General Interest Forums > New to the Hobby
Blogs FAQ Calendar

Notices

User Tag List

Reply
Thread Tools
Unread 09/08/2011, 06:26 AM   #1
yellowRubi
Registered Member
 
yellowRubi's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2006
Location: Streamwood,IL
Posts: 677
Is 15lbs of live sand enough to start the cycle?

I have 60lbs of Dry Marcosrock in my tank, i also have 45lbs of sand and i bought 15lbs of live sand ( they have it bagged at the local LFS ) the 15lbs of live sand i on top of the regurlar sand, i tested for Amonia after 5 days and its 0, do You guys think the 15lbs is enough to get the bacteria growing? or should i add some pure amonia or put a raw shrimp there to help out with the cycle.

Thank You very much!


__________________
48x36x20h tank & 40x20x16h Sump - NanoSeaCreations
2x MP40 Quiet Drives, SKIMZ SM161 , Water Blaster HY-7000 Return
ATI T5/LED 48"Powermodule, Apex with all the goodies,2 BRS Reactors

Last edited by yellowRubi; 09/08/2011 at 06:56 AM.
yellowRubi is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 09/08/2011, 08:56 AM   #2
funkejj
Registered Member
 
Join Date: Aug 2010
Posts: 747
Live sand is a gimick. Just put in a raw shrimp like you would buy to eat. leave it in until you see a ammonia spike. The other method is feeding "ghost fish" for a week as the decay of food will start the cycle.


funkejj is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 09/08/2011, 02:38 PM   #3
ZR1001
Registered Member
 
Join Date: May 2001
Location: Folsom, CA
Posts: 359
+1 on feeding "ghost fish"


ZR1001 is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 09/08/2011, 02:42 PM   #4
Tahoe69
Registered Member
 
Join Date: Dec 2010
Location: Lake Tahoe
Posts: 309
+1 ghost fish


Tahoe69 is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 09/08/2011, 05:39 PM   #5
Ron Reefman
Registered Member
 
Ron Reefman's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2009
Location: Cape Coral, FL
Posts: 10,431
Quote:
Originally Posted by funkejj View Post
Live sand is a gimick. Just put in a raw shrimp like you would buy to eat. leave it in until you see a ammonia spike. The other method is feeding "ghost fish" for a week as the decay of food will start the cycle.
A gimick? Somebody posted on here a few days ago a video of 2 very small fish that came with their sand. Somebody asked if it could have come with the LR... they didn't have LR! Now that's some live sand!


__________________
The good thing about science is that it's true whether or not you believe in it. (Neil deGrasse Tyson)
Visit my build thread http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2593017
Ron Reefman is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 09/08/2011, 05:44 PM   #6
hollister
Registered Member
 
Join Date: Apr 2011
Posts: 2,037
No shrimp needed. Live sand doesnt mean its live or has any die off or is completly base sand . You also have slightly less LR then reccomended but thats ok.

You may not see readings showing cycling but let it cycle for atleast 2 weeks.


hollister is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 09/08/2011, 06:15 PM   #7
sporto0
Moved On
 
Join Date: Apr 2010
Location: Pittsburgh, Pa.
Posts: 2,924
Quote:
Originally Posted by hollister View Post
No shrimp needed. Live sand doesnt mean its live or has any die off or is completly base sand . You also have slightly less LR then reccomended but thats ok.

You may not see readings showing cycling but let it cycle for atleast 2 weeks.
What? The only thing you said that I understood was the slightly less than recommended rock statement.


sporto0 is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 09/08/2011, 07:08 PM   #8
yellowRubi
Registered Member
 
yellowRubi's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2006
Location: Streamwood,IL
Posts: 677
I got 60lbs of dry rock, and the tank is only 57gal so i think it should be enough, as for the feeding "ghosts" wich food should i use? Frozen or some dry pellets? I dont have any so i will buy some, just need to know what would be better

Thank you very mych for all the replys!


__________________
48x36x20h tank & 40x20x16h Sump - NanoSeaCreations
2x MP40 Quiet Drives, SKIMZ SM161 , Water Blaster HY-7000 Return
ATI T5/LED 48"Powermodule, Apex with all the goodies,2 BRS Reactors
yellowRubi is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 09/08/2011, 08:50 PM   #9
acpoweradapter
Registered Member
 
Join Date: May 2007
Location: Alabama
Posts: 527
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ron Reefman View Post
A gimick? Somebody posted on here a few days ago a video of 2 very small fish that came with their sand. Somebody asked if it could have come with the LR... they didn't have LR! Now that's some live sand!
I must have missed that? Where was it?

Back to the topic, no live sand won't start the cycle. Use a shrimp, or buy ammonia.


__________________
~ Elos Mini ~

Alabama Reefers
acpoweradapter is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply


Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is On


Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
proper/eco-friendly way of disposing of Live Sand? zyphen Reef Discussion 8 05/19/2010 11:37 PM
Adding "live" sand to a cycled system whiterabbit.50 Reef Discussion 5 01/06/2010 07:14 PM
FS: Lots of Live Sand and Lots of Live Rock and some PFO 400 watt ballasts Roman Ogee Chicagoland Marine Aquarium Society (CMAS) 64 11/02/2009 07:35 PM
Will adding new live sand cause a mini re-cycle? cato Greater Connecticut Area Regional Forum 4 03/08/2006 02:54 PM


All times are GMT -6. The time now is 11:58 PM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.4
Copyright ©2000 - 2025, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
Powered by Searchlight © 2025 Axivo Inc.
Use of this web site is subject to the terms and conditions described in the user agreement.
Reef CentralTM Reef Central, LLC. Copyright ©1999-2022
User Alert System provided by Advanced User Tagging v3.3.0 (Pro) - vBulletin Mods & Addons Copyright © 2025 DragonByte Technologies Ltd.