[adviner]

I was looking to buy some live sand and ebay has some at pretty good prices. I was wondering what anyone though about it. Here is a sample site that i was looking at Aquarium Live Sand 40 lbs Florida Aquatic substrate - eBay (item 290345110540 end time Sep-06-09 20:16:27 PDT)

Thanks

[Grym]

Its good in that it probably is live sand from Florida if its fresh. As you know if it is in a bag or bucket without air and water flow the bacteria die over time. On the other hand if it is fresh from the ocean or most likely marsh, like Indian river near Ft Pierce/Vero Beach where there are 6 businesses for the salt water trade you might get a nasty or two in there.
If you have a tank with dead sand and put a small handful of liver sand from someones local tank it will seed the dead sand and bacteria multiplies fast. Saves shipping costs but can take a week or two. You will need a fish or animal to provide food (pee and poo) for the bacteria. Also think about if you pay for live sand the bacteria will grow or die,, depending on the population of you tank, to reach equilibrium with the food source.
One last thought if you have a tank of dead sand and put an animal in it the bacteria exists in the intestine of the animal and will seed you tank, just takes 4-8 weeks.

[adviner]

Thank you for the helpfull information

[adviner]

I went to my local fish store dealer and I live in Arizona, he says they use sand from the local rock site here. And he uses it in his tank all the time - I wonder how good that is, any opinions

[Grym]

Sand is sand it works as a surface for bacteria. For some fish like gobys who dig sharp edges can damage them. Some things eat bits of sand and excrete through gills or anus.
Also to consider as the tank is set up for a few years the aragonite sand dissolves to buffer and maintain the calcium levels as it dissolves. Unless your sand is from an old reef it wont do this.
Depending on the type of tank biotope and what you want in the tank it can work or not using local or playground sand.
Tanks are holes you throw money into. You can make them as big as you want but they are not cheap. Depends on what you want to do. Research research research and you can save a bit of money.

[Lightsluvr]

If it's not Aragonite sand, I wouldn't use it. Riverbed sand in the southwest will have silica which is not good for fish and will encourage algae and other nuisances...

LL