# Live sand in a freshwater aquarium?



## iamgray (Jul 16, 2010)

A friend of mine just bought a used fish tank and the original owner had live sand in it as a substrate. Am I confused or what? I thought live sand was a saltwater thing. Should she switch it to something else? The tank will be housing two Australian Blue Lobsters.


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## Rip (Dec 24, 2010)

sand is not alive


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## amberjade (May 28, 2010)

I'd dump it and put play sand in. I'm sure with massive amounts of rinsing it would be ok, but play sand is so cheap, why bother?
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## iamgray (Jul 16, 2010)

Rip said:


> sand is not alive


Since this is the internet and all, I can't tell if you're posting that to be funny, or if you seriously think I need to be told that sand is not alive.

Though all this time I've been shouting at the sand trying to get it to play Go Fish with me and wondering why it's ignoring me... so, thank you for informing me that sand is not alive. That explains everything. I just feel so silly now. :lol:

Just in case, though... What is "Live Sand" in a reef aquarium?


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## iamgray (Jul 16, 2010)

amberjade said:


> I'd dump it and put play sand in. I'm sure with massive amounts of rinsing it would be ok, but play sand is so cheap, why bother?
> _Posted via Mobile Device_


 
Yeah, I pretty much told her that I wasn't sure what effect it would have on the water chemistry and that it'd be safest to just go with something that she KNOWS is safe rather than risking it. And the reason why the person was selling the tank was because it would not support life, so why keep the same setup if it didn't work for the first person?


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## RedCloud (Mar 23, 2011)

*Live Sand is real*

I have been keeping a reef tank for 5 years now. Sand is "Live Sand" when it gets all the beneficial bacteria growth on it. It is the same with "Live Rock". This bacteria growth happens in both Saltwater and Freshwater. In saltwater there are also micro organisms and bugs that populate the sand so it is easier to think of it as live sand, but the key part to live sand is the bacteria, so it is the same in freshwater.  

If you have sand that came from an established tank, I would suggest that you just rinse it with dechlorinated water and then use it to set up your new tank. Your tank will cycle quicker.


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## daver (Mar 12, 2011)

*live sand*

Iamgrey, Love your response to rip. I had a real good laugh!
I wanted you to know you can buy sterilized play sand at most lumber yards.
Just a light rinse will do for your aquarium.


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## iamgray (Jul 16, 2010)

She ended up using some other gravel that she had kicking around from when she switched her other tanks to sand. As far as cycling the tank, I'm not sure what she's doing... I assume she'll seed it with materials from the tank that the lobsters are currently in, and allow it to cycle before moving them over.

Thanks for the info, RedCloud! 

And daver... I'm here all week. Try the veal, and remember to tip your waitress. :-D


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