Live sand or not

[RegalTang]

its ok its what im here for . obviously there are the benefits from having a dsp but there are also negatives as it can harbor nitrate pockets and things like that.

Glad to be of help
Chris

[mark1177]

What do you mean by nitrate pockets

[RegalTang]

What do you mean by nitrate pockets

Nitrate pockets are where there are build ups of nitrate produced from uneaten food and decaying matter that is in the live sand, this is easily sorted by having something that will sift through the sand such as Sand sifting starfish. here is a link that may be able to explain in it in more detail than i can: DSB (Deep Sand Bed) or No DSB?

Hope this helps
Chris

[mark1177]

Cheers have some sand sifting snails are you a shop and if so how much is your sand and what mm

[RegalTang]

we havent got any sand sifting snails but unless they were sold since i was last in on Saturday we should have 3 Sand sifting starfish which are about £15.00 and i think its the fine grade stuff from TMC an if we have got any 25kg sacks (not sure on price) an i think we should have some 5kg bags at about £5.50.
But if you give us a call on 01782 773647 an ask for Nige (cos im not in today) after 11 when we are open. he will be able to tell you if they are in stock and the exact price cos he will have it on the computer in front of him.

Hope this helps
Chris

[mark1177]

Got some non live sand how

[mark1177]

Got some non live sand how

Got some non live sand should I put in bit at a time stupid phone doing strange things

[powderbluetang]

Mark, hiya, just caught up with your thread. New dead coral sand will do the job for you. Since the sand you have now is a year or more old, so it will be live, as you know. If you add dead coral sand it will populate with critters from your original sand really quickly, like Chris said. Adding new live sand, for example Caribbseas Live Sand, which is good stuff, is a pretty expensive way of arriving at the same place and you'd need quite a bit for a dsb. Coral sand is way cheaper, just a bit slower to populate.
Chris is also right by mentioning that dsb's can harbor some nitrate pockets, especially around slow flow areas of your tank and sand sifting stars and snails can help to move the sand. Some say though that those kinds of inverts can munch all of the wildlife from your sand. I'll PM you with coral sand prices.
Cheers. Nige

[mark1177]

How deep does dsb need to be

[RegalTang]

cheers Nige, how deep you want it is personal choice really

Hope this helps
Chris