How much LiveSand/ gal

how much LS/ Gal of water?
i have a 90 gallon tank with about 1" across the bottom. I know base rock turns into Live rock. so if i buy aquarium sand and mix it with my live sand will it come to life? what kind of sand could i use for this if its possible.

 

about 1lb/gal assuming your tank isnt super tall or short. you can mix LS and dry sand, and i recommend doing that if you use LS at all. LS is very expensive, and unnecessary i think. dry sand will become live sand in time. I would use an aragonite based sand, not too fine or it will constantly be disturbed by flow.

 

I like to keep 1"-2" of sand in my tanks and I dont like mixing sands. Luna

 

whats a good company to get sand from?

 

Play sand from any home improvement store.

 

Negative...............play sand contains silicates, which is not good for SW tanks. I recommend any brand that states "live sand" on the package. Luna

 

Like other posters have said, about 1 lb/gallon. In my 46, we used a 40 lb bag and ended up adding another 10 lb bag. I'm not sure which brand we used, it was whatever our LFS (saltwater only store) sold. The main thing we were told was to buy from someone with a lot of turnover, that it does expire and you don't want to buy live sand that's been sitting on a shelf forever. We have probably a 2 inch total substrate, which is continually being sifted by our pistol shrimp and goby, as well as the nasarrius snails.

 

Some say live sand is a waste of money. I decided to go with live sand for a couple of reasons. Anyway, it may be more expensive, but I can't see how you can go wrong with it. I put about 1 - 2" in my tank.