Read About Pre Packaged Live Sand

Pre packaged live sand is an excellent way to filter out the organic matter in a saltwater aquarium. Here's everything you need to know about this product.

Pre Packaged Live Sand - What Are They?

  1. Description:

    Live sand is natural reef coral sand. Many types of microscopic bacteria, tiny crustaceans, and other organisms live in this sand. These organisms help with the filtration in the aquarium, as well as consuming the organic matter.
  2. Who Needs These?

    Anyone who owns a saltwater aquarium will benefit from using live sand as the main base for filtration.
  3. Why Do You Need These?

    Live sand, in conjunction with a protein skimmer, is necessary in a saltwater aquarium to filter out organic matter that would otherwise stimulate the formation of algae and other bacteria which will, in time, kill the fish.
  4. Types:

    There are many types of live sand, but coral or reef sand, crushed coral, or aragonite are the best choices.
  5. Benefits:

    The organisms in the live sand consume organic matter in the sand bed. A major benefit of prepackaged live sand is that, although all sand will become live at some point, it takes much longer than using sand that already has these organisms and crustaceans already present.
  6. Uses:

    A cost-effective method (as live sand can be very expensive) is to use a mixture of live sand and non-living sand. This is known as "seeding". The non-living sand will be converted to live sand in a shorter period of time than it would if there were no live sand present in the mixture.

Pre Packaged Live Sand - Tips

  1. Varieties:

    The main varieties of live sand are those of coral origin, and silicate-based sand.
  2. Quality Choices:

    Aragonite is one of the best types of live sand. Silicate-based sand should not be used, because it causes problems with algae, which is almost impossible to remove once it takes hold in the aquarium.
  3. Where to Use:

    Live sand should be placed at the very bottom of the aquarium, under the rocks. It should be added slowly so that the water doesn't become excessively cloudy.

Pre Packaged Live Sand - Concerns

  1. Safety Issues:

    There are no major safety issues for using prepackaged live sand.
  2. Behavioral Issues:

    Use of live sand will add to the liveliness of your fish and other aquarium inhabitants, because it adds to the nutrients in the water.
  3. Convenience:

    Prepackaged live sand is convenient, in that you will not need to wait for non-living sand to become live, which may take a long period of time.

Pre Packaged Live Sand - How to Choose

  1. What to Look For:

    Look for coral-based or aragonite live sand, as these types will not encourage formation of algae.
  2. Expense:

    Pre packaged live sand can be very expensive, if used by itself. That is why it may be best to mix a 50-50 mixture of live sand and non-living sand.
  3. Other Items You Might Need:

    Besides the fish and the live sand, you will want to add some "sand stirrers" such as hermit crabs, starfish, or other creatures that will stir up the live sand to keep it active.