what is live sand and live rock for marine aquariums, and how pricey are they? what are they for and are they?

Question

and are they essential to a marine aquarium?

Answer 1

All these are is sand and carbonate rock that have live bacteria in them. The bacteria help with biological filtration by converting the ammonia (a toxic waste that your fish and other tank organisms produce) into nitrate (which is nontoxic in moderate amounts).

A 20 lb bag of live sand starts at around $30, live rock starts at around $8 for good quality. Dry versions of the same can be bought for around $15 and $1.50 respectively.

They are not absolutely essential for a marine aquarium, you you can benefit by having the bacteria, since it improves your water quality. I personally have never used the bagged live sand and never will. If it's been sitting on a shelf in a bag, how do the bacteria needed for converting the ammonia get enough oxygen? I've also seen bags with red cyanobacteria (red slime algae) in them. You can sometimes buy live sand from an operating tank, depending on the fish store, and this would be the better choice in my opinion. I prefer to get live rock, which is stored in the store tanks with flowing water.

Since both are expensive, I recommend that people want them purchase only the dry aragonite sand or crushed coral, and a mix of about 1/2 dry rock and 1/2 quality live rock. In time, the bacteria on the live rock will colonize the other rock and the sand. You save money, and in a few months, you'll have the same amount of bacteria.

Live rock can come from anywhere in the ocean, but there are some differences. Pacific origin rock is more porous and has more area for bacteria to colonize than does Atlantic or Carribean rock. The Atlantic and Carribean is more colorful when you buy it.

Although the "live" actually refers to the bacteria, you'll find plenty of other living things that are "hitchiking" on it. I've bought pieces with shrimp, snails, urchins, sea stars, sponges, tunicates, clams, algae, feather worms, and corals. It can take you a few months to find some of the organisms.

Here are two links with additional information: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/liverock1.htm
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/livesand.htm

Answer 2

Neither one of them is essential. You can have a successful marine aquarium without either of them. They are helpful though.

Live rock is pretty much rock and compressed coral that has bacteria living in and on it. It helps to break down ammonia, nitrates and nitrite. The more holes and crevices that it has for water to flow through and around, the more it helps. There are often hitchhikers on live rock also. They may be snails, shrimp, feather dusters, copeopods, corals, anemones, bristleworms, starfish and who knows what else. Some are good for the tank, and some may be pests.

Live sand is sand that has the bacteria already with it. It helps to speed up the cycling of the aquarium, and does the same as live rock in breakind down the ammonia and that.

In my opinion, live sand is a waste of money. Once your tank is set up and cycled, and you start adding other creatures to it, any sand will become "live". Just make sure you get a good quality sand like the argonite sand. (it helps to control pH in the aquarium) If your local fish store will give you some, ask them for a small amount of sand from one of their tanks to kickstart your tank.

Live rock on the other hand, I think is a good investment. The rock in my tanks has all kinds of life on them. Small shrimp, copeopods, and some algae that the fish love to eat. There are also all kinds of brittle starfish, bristleworms, and small snails that wander around and eat leftovers and such. Not to mention that it looks better in a marine tank that the artificial decorations and stuff that you can buy.

The live sand around here runs about $20 for a 15lb bag.

Live rock can run anywhere from $7/lb to $20/lb or more. It all depends on the quality and type, and where it's from.

Answer 3

Well, Sweetpea sea horses do best in a species tank and are very sensitive and finicky. I would nix the sea horses until you're an experiences saltwater keeper. A 29 gallon would probably be alright for 1 clown fish, 1 starfish and maybe some damsels or cardinal, one small hawk or one jaw fish. Your probably looking at between 200 and 400 for the tank and stand. And an additional 150-300 for supplies. For the fish you're probably looking at 6 for damsels, between 6-10 for cardinals, 15-30 for clown, 15-30 for hawk, 15-30 for jaw fish. Saltwater aquariums aren't something to do on a whim, they're more complicated than a fresh water tank and you need to be sure you're willing to put the time, effort and money into setting up and maintaining the tank. You're looking at about a month and a half before you get anything in the tank but damsels. And I wouldn't do a star fish for about another month after the initial month and a half. Parameters Specific gravity 1.022-1.025 PH 8.0-8.4 Alkalinity 240 (ish) I would suggest visiting a local saltwater shop and speaking with someone, different areas have different water quality, and different products and all.

Answer 4

They are just rock and sand that is colonized by bacteria to help with the nitrogen cycle. The cheapest that I've seen is $19.99 for the sand and the same for the rock. I would say that they are very essential to a marine aquarium because there isn't anything else that you can use to aquascape a marine tank.

~ZTM

Answer 5

I'm not sure about the live sand...but the live rocks are rocks that have been gathered from the reefs and kept in the water. They are usually full of live things. We got a clicking shrimp in one..many brittle starfish..shrimps.
But I will admit that the last few years it has been hard to find any decent live rocks...oh yes..you would probably get some small tube worms also...

Answer 6

live rock is usually from the fuji area, and are needed for a good saltwater tank.

Sand can be used is saltwater but dont as good as live rock base, sand can also be used in combo with crushed coral and live rock.

Generally live rock is what cost the most in saltwater aquariums.

My friends 4,000 gallon tank, it was about 10000 dollars for live rock, let alone the fishes and filters and gear.

10,000 for just the live rock.

Answer 7

as stated they aren't essential but very,VERY useful.
i prefer live aragonite to live sand harvested from the sea, cause it helps buffer the water a little better, IMO, and doens't trap detritus live chrushed coral does.
live can can be found on the internet for as low as 3.99 and in local shops for as much as 15 bucks or more. it depends on the quality and the quantity puchased(kinda like buying in bulk)
if you use half liverock and half regular rocks it can save you alotof money but also doen't look as good and takes a little while to longer to cycle properly.

p.s. i once found a live starfish in a bag of CaribSea (live aragonite)