Sand and rocks

Sand and stones are a part and parcel of every natural marine aquarium. They thus not only fulfill decorative purpose: So called live sand or Live-Sand (e.g.from Red Sea or CaribSea) is already inoculated with bacteria and thus is a natural substrate which acts directly biologically and thus reduces the startup phase. Here there exists numerous variants and colours depending on the origin of sand (e.g.Carib Sea Fiji Pink, Red Sea Reef Pink, CaribSea Hawaiian Black, Bahamas Oolite, Ocean Direct Live Sand). Live Sand should not be washed out before use. Sand from calcite: ATI Fiji White and Co As long as you want to use specially white, fine sand, we recommend a sand having high calcite percentage. This also has the advantage that it is relatively difficult for it to be blown away due to the strong water flow. Examples for sand types having high calcite percentage are ATI Fiji White sand or Preis Bora Bora Sand. These are also very well suitable for a so called Deep Sand Bed (DSB-System). With Deep Sand Bed the sand is layered upto ca. 8cm-10cm high and thus acts as biological filter. Tanks without DSB-system manage with a 1-2cm high layer of sand. Sand with a high calcite percentage should be washed out several times under tap water before use. For inoculation of sandwe recommend bacteria for example Nyos Bac or Microbe Lift Special Blend, NiteOut and TheraP.