How long will live sand live in a bucket? + other newbie questions

[WOW]

I just brought home a 125 gallon aquarium that used to be set up as a
mini-reef. All live rock and other animals were given away the night of the
"disaster", but it came with a 5 pound bucket of live sand. How long will
it live? It has been in this bucket since Wednesday. Do I already have
dead live sand? Am I better getting rid of it and getting new? Where to
get new? I saw it in a bag at the local PetCo. How can that be alive?

I used to keep sal****er (fish only) about 25 years ago, lots has changed
and I have a lot of catching up to do, so I'm reluctant to get forced into
setting this up right away, however I do have enough salt mix to fill it
right away. Also have protein skimmer, UV sterilizer, bio-ball filter (with
no bio-balls). The former owner gave me a brief run-down on connections for
the filtration system. Back in the day, we got fresh crushed coral, a
handful of dirty crushed coral from the shop, and a couple of damsels and
that was how we conditioned the tank.

I keep reading the recommended amount of live rock is 1.5 to 2 pounds per
gallon. This stuff is EXPENSIVE. Cheap stuff is $4 per pound. Do I really
need to spend $1000 for rocks for my $500 tank? Can I get a few small ones,
some artificial bigger ones and grow my own over time?

I think I got a great deal on the setup - it flooded Wednesday night due to
a blocked tube and the guy's girlfriend paniced and unplugged it - getting a
jolt in the process; she said it must go NOW! Got the whole setup for $500
including Oak stand and hood, full spectrum flourescent(?) lighting, all
test kits, water conditioners, 600 GPH main head, 2 - 500 heads (one with
broken impeller), heater, siphons and other miscellaneous stuff.

It's sitting empty next to me right now - leveled and ready to go. I
cleaned the stand and hood, but have not yet cleaned the tank.

Any advice you want to give a returning newbie, please go for it...
(Please remove the spam if you want to talk to
me)

[Marc Levenson]

I wouldn't trust the sand sitting in a bucket for long at all. Matter of fact,
a DSB that has been dug up and put into buckets will release all kinds of toxins
that will cause months of frustration later.

I would suggest you buy new sand and use 2 or 3 literal cups of the existing
sand to seed the new stuff.

Here's a webpage to give you a brief overview of the techiques used today:

http://www.melevsreef.com/overview.htm

LR is expensive, but you can buy it used from people that are leaving the hobby,
or talk to your LFS about buying it in bulk as it arrives. They might let you
piggyback your order on theirs, and you'll just take the boxes AS IS when they
arrive. Or you can order it online as many people prefer to do.
Tampabaysal****er LR is often praised for the life on it.

Marc


WOW wrote:

> I just brought home a 125 gallon aquarium that used to be set up as a
> mini-reef. All live rock and other animals were given away the night of the
> "disaster", but it came with a 5 pound bucket of live sand. How long will
> it live? It has been in this bucket since Wednesday. Do I already have
> dead live sand? Am I better getting rid of it and getting new? Where to
> get new? I saw it in a bag at the local PetCo. How can that be alive?
>
> I used to keep sal****er (fish only) about 25 years ago, lots has changed
> and I have a lot of catching up to do, so I'm reluctant to get forced into
> setting this up right away, however I do have enough salt mix to fill it
> right away. Also have protein skimmer, UV sterilizer, bio-ball filter (with
> no bio-balls). The former owner gave me a brief run-down on connections for
> the filtration system. Back in the day, we got fresh crushed coral, a
> handful of dirty crushed coral from the shop, and a couple of damsels and
> that was how we conditioned the tank.
>
> I keep reading the recommended amount of live rock is 1.5 to 2 pounds per
> gallon. This stuff is EXPENSIVE. Cheap stuff is $4 per pound. Do I really
> need to spend $1000 for rocks for my $500 tank? Can I get a few small ones,
> some artificial bigger ones and grow my own over time?
>
> I think I got a great deal on the setup - it flooded Wednesday night due to
> a blocked tube and the guy's girlfriend paniced and unplugged it - getting a
> jolt in the process; she said it must go NOW! Got the whole setup for $500
> including Oak stand and hood, full spectrum flourescent(?) lighting, all
> test kits, water conditioners, 600 GPH main head, 2 - 500 heads (one with
> broken impeller), heater, siphons and other miscellaneous stuff.
>
> It's sitting empty next to me right now - leveled and ready to go. I
> cleaned the stand and hood, but have not yet cleaned the tank.
>
> Any advice you want to give a returning newbie, please go for it...
> (Please remove the spam if you want to talk to
> me)

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