detrivore kits/live sand

[Anonymous]

i have a 57 gallon tank and have 60 lbs of caribsea special grade and 60 lbs of live rock. i've been told that the live rock will "seed" my sand bed and have been told that a detrivore kit like the ones from ipsf and inland would be beneficial and/or live sand. don't know what to do and any suggestions or opinions would be appreciated.
glen

[This message has been edited by Rigby (edited 30 December 1999).]

 

[Anonymous]

Glen -

Live rock will seed a bed of 'dead' sand eventually. Unfortunately live rock usually has a very small number of organisms which will transfer over to the sand (probably as a result of shipping methods). Usually bacteria will transfer to the sand as well as a few copepods and amphipods(and possibly a few bristle worms). This creates a very limited environment. However, if you are looking for good biodiversity, ordering some live sand from somewhere like IPSF is a great idea. You will end up with 100x the amount of life in your sand bed(which can only help your tank).

Good Luck!

Corbin

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http://home.att.net/~corbinwest

 

[Anonymous]

Glen:

I agree with Corbin that the rock will liven the sand eventually, but that adding things specifically to do the job will make it go faster, and will introduce species that might not otherwise be there. I bought a kit from Inland Aquatics a couple of years ago, and I would do it again.

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Randy Holmes-Farley

 

[Anonymous]

Live rock will eventually seed many of the organisms that you find in live sand, but there are also many that you will need to supply. Some of the them aren't usually found on the rock, and limit themselves to the sand.

I would definitely agree that you should seed your sand with some good live sand, or a starter kit. It may be a little tougher with actual live sand, a lot of the little guys get ground up in shipping, so you may be better off with a starter kit. There are many sources, ipsf.com is one, inland aquatics is also a good source. There are a bunch of others that I can't think of off-hand. HTH, ed