# live sand



## heyhey (Jan 31, 2007)

Hi.
I got live sand and it ended up sitting in a jar for water for about a month before i could actually set up my tank. I was wondering if the live organisms could end up dying since it was just sitting in that jar. And how important is it to have live sand in a salt water aquarium?


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## caferacermike (Oct 3, 2006)

Live sand is important. Many of your critters may still be alive. Was the water left in it? Was it salt water? Was the jar open or closed? Pour the sand and water into a bucket, smell it. If it smells like death it is ruined. You can rinse the sand out in clean water until the smell is gone and continue using it but the benefits ar gone. It will however quickly reseed into new live sand.


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## jeffwee559 (Jan 14, 2007)

but what if i set up the tank and didnt rinse it, will it be bad?

i had some live sand(extra) in a jug and i left it sit in the for about a month, never thought anything about it and then got a new 3 gallon tank and put it in their and put the live rock in their...but as i put the sand it, it smelt! horrible...haha. i knew that was a bad sign but kept going...is that bad. i let the tank run for a week now and put a yellowtail damsel in their and it didnt die but will my tank be able to balance out or will their be any repercussions?

_Your second paragraph has been placed here. I would not allow two same topics running at the same time as it can get confusing.
Blue_


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## Lupin (Aug 2, 2006)

You might have some ammonia at this time if you set up the tank with it, Jeff. I'd still prefer to clean it to be safe. As for the damsel, damsels are hardy and are often used to cycle the tank. Be sure to monitor your water parameters.


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## caferacermike (Oct 3, 2006)

Most likely it will give you troubles then. You'll need to do a lot of water changes and wait a long time for the tank to cycle, unlike if you had used a clean sand. In the end it will probably work out, just takes a long time.


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## jeffwee559 (Jan 14, 2007)

alright thanks. shouldnt be to hard with a tank about 3 gallons to do what changes. bye


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