by Charles Steinfeld Photo by Lorenzo White Pod Picture by Chad Clayton of Reef Nutrition ![]() Similar to Live Rock, Live Sand is a surface for bacterial populations to grow on and break down organics. Think of your live sand as being home to millions of bacteria as well as macro organisms (like amphipods and copepods) that will benefit your ecosystem at every rung of the food chain. There can be serious implications though if you have either too little or too much, I know, too much of a good thing can be a bad thing. The live sand houses many different species of bacteria and as such if the depth of your sand is at the in-between depth you may be doing yourself a disservice. I personally use the “under 2” or over 4”” depth rule. As in I don’t like for my sand bed to be between 2 and 4”. This is simply because the compounds that are broken down between these depths can result in compounds that are worse for your tank than are beneficial. Photo by Ernest Mcelwee Photo Credit : Laura Liyanage (starfish), Marvin Ballard (Sea cucumber), Lori Johnson (Hermit Crab, Conch) A quick list includes:
Sand bed health is incredibly important for your aquarium, it’s also what can set your aquarium apart. A clean crisp white sand bed can make your tank look spectacular, a dirty sand bed can make your aquarium appear dirtier than it really is and draws attention away from the other animals in your Aquarium, no one wants a dirty floor to take away from beautiful art on the walls, why would you allow a dirty sand bed to draw attention away from your reefs?! Honorable Mentions. Photo by Marvin Ballard
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February 2018
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