How To Turn Dry Rock Into Live Rock Using Live Sand

Welcome to Simple Reefs. We have been talking about Live Rock as part of our series on staring a simple marine aquarium. If you have questions about what exactly Live Rock is, you should check out our article on Live Rock, Dry Rock, and Life Rock for a simple explanation. In this article, we are showing you how to Transform Dry Rock Into Live Rock Using Live Sand.

This article assumes that you have already read our article on Turning Dry Rock Into Live Rock. It also assumes you are looking to transform your dry rock into live rock and have chosen to do that using Live Sand that we will purchase from our local fish shop or an online retailer. But how do we do it?

Please note that this process is exactly the same if we are using Life Rock. Life Rock is, basically, a painted version of dry rock and needs to be made live in the same way as dry rock. The bacteria infused in it is not proven to be sufficient for instantly cycling an aquarium.

A Few Prerequisites

Before we start, this article assumes that you actually want to have a sand bed in your marine aquarium. It sounds like an obvious thing to say. But there are ways to accomplish this task without having a sand bed, while still using live sand, but they are woefully inefficient. If you don’t want sand, check out our articles on Turning Dry Rock Into Live Rock using Bottled Bacteria and Turning Dry Rock Into Live Rock Using Pre-Established Live Rock, for alternatives.

I would suggest, if you are still on the fence about whether or not to have a sand bed. Checking out our article on Sand Beds in a Marine Aquarium, where we discuss the pros and cons of a sand bed. There are lots of benefits to choosing to include sand in your setup. Including increased levels of biodiversity, better aesthetics, a more accommodating home for certain aquarium residents, and, if using live sand, a faster cycling process.

You can also read all about Live Sand in this article which goes into detail on the differences between dry sand and live sand as well as whether live sand can instantly cycle your new aquarium. Once you have done that, we are ready to get started.

The Live Sand Difference

To quickly summarise, Live Sand is sand that comes wet in a bag and is teeming with nitrifying bacteria. This bacteria is ready and waiting to start consuming ammonia that comes from the food we place in the aquarium and the poop that comes from fish. This nitrifying bacteria will, in turn, begin our cycling process. Eventually, the bacteria will reproduce and cover the surfaces of our aquarium. In this case, predominantly, our dry rock that is, currently, a barren wasteland with no life on it at all.

Live sand can be sand taken from an already established aquarium but is, more typically, a product sold by certain companies. Carib Sea are a well known live sand distributor, as are Nature’s Ocean and Aquaforest. All of them claim to allow your tank to instantly cycle, allowing the addition of residents immediately. We heavily dispute that in our article on Live Sand – Can It Instantly Cycle Your Aquarium and encourage patience. But we do agree that live sand will speed up the process.

The Benefits of Live Sand

We do have some benefits to using live sand to transform our dry rock into live rock. The most noteworthy of which is convenience. If you are already having a sand bed. A single bag of live sand may be all the sand you need to complete your setup. Even with a large aquarium, a single, small, bag of live sand added to dry sand will do the job. Making it something of a “set it and forget it” option.

When I started my first marine aquarium. I added one bag of live sand to a couple of bags of dry and used dry rock. The process worked fine and, as I said, was somewhat “set it and forget it” with regards to peace of mind as I knew the live sand contained the bacteria that I needed,

We also have the added benefit of live sand being free from any undesirable aquarium pests. You are highly unlikely to introduce anything that you don’t want to be in the tank with live sand. It is clean and pure containing only the nitrifying bacteria you need to get started. Making it a safer option than using live rock. It is worth remembering that live sand is a premium option, though.

A Premium Option

Aquaforest is a brand I trust and a 7.5kg bag of their Bio Sand costs £24 at a well known British retailer. This same retailer sells a 25kg bag of dry sand for £39.99. It doesn’t take much calculating to realise that you are paying a premium for the privilege of the bacteria being in the sand. Especially considering a bottle of nitrifying bacteria can be purchased for less than £15.

As I mentioned before, the main benefit of live sand is convenience and that comes at a price. Simple Reefs is all about saving you money and showing you how to own a marine aquarium without spending a lot. If you are yet to purchase your sand. I would suggest that you take a second to think about whether this is the best option. Only consider this method if you really don’t mind spending a decent amount of money for, basically, the same result as cheaper options.

If money is a factor in setting up your new marine aquarium. I would highly suggest you purchase dry sand and then use the alternate method of Turning Dry Rock Into Live Rock Using Bottled Bacteria. It is much cheaper, equally as safe, the bacteria will turn your dry sand into live sand at the same time as it turns your rock into live rock, and requires the same follow up steps.

Getting Started with Live Sand

If you are ready to get started with live sand, we simply need to purchase some. Carib Sea and Aquaforest are the two brands I would recommend. I trust both of them completely. Aquaforest’s Bio Sand is bright white and, sort of, gives the game away by simply including two bottles of bacteria in the package. Live Sand is, after all, just sand with bacteria included. You simply place the sand in your tank and add the bacteria. Caribsea has the bacteria included in the sand itself.

I have put together a pretty large article on how to add sand to a marine aquarium so take a look at that to get started on filling your tank with both sand and water. As well as tips regarding adding the bacteria or clarifying the water. We aren’t done just yet, though. That bacteria in the sand is going to need feeding to make it reproduce so that it can transform our dry rock into live rock.

This is where the process of turning dry rock into live rock, using live sand, is almost identical to that of bottled bacteria. The bacteria in the sand is hungry for one thing and one thing only – ammonia. Without feeding the bacteria some ammonia, it will die and we will be back to square one.

Much of this next part is copied, verbatim, from my bottled bacteria article as the methods are the same. The whole point of the bacteria in our aquariums is to consume ammonia and transform it into the slightly safer compound Nitrite. That Nitrite will then feed a different type of bacteria which will, in turn, transform nitrite into the even safer compound Nitrate. We then remove these nitrates from the water via water changes and other methods. The bacteria won’t reproduce if it doesn’t have food. But how do we feed it?

Feeding Bacteria The Old Way

The old fashioned way of doing this was to go and buy a decent sized piece of frozen shrimp. Yep, the type that you would whack in a curry. Defrost it, throw it in the aquarium and let it rot. Pretty disgusting but effective because the shrimp’s rotting flesh produces ammonia. That ammonia would then be consumed by the bacteria in the sand. Allowing it to, in turn, reproduce and start taking up real estate on the surfaces of our rocks. Making them live and, therefore, completing the oh so important cycle we talk about often.

It’s about as hands off as it gets and this method still works perfectly fine. You simply throw your shrimp in to the water with your live sand and dry rock. Give it a few days and then test the water to check for ammonia. When the ammonia appears in your test results, you know that the cycle has started.

You can now begin testing your water every day. What we are looking for is for that ammonia reading to vanish. When your ammonia test comes back negative. Test again for a day or two after. If you have a few successful negative ammonia readings, you are done. Your cycle is complete and your dry rock has started on its journey to becoming live. Some people suggest testing for Nitrite, too, but this is far less important in marine aquariums. We will go into this in a future article.

You can also do what is called “ghost feeding” the tank. The process is very similar but a little more hands on. You simply add a small amount of fish food every day. This fish food will rot, creating ammonia that will, in turn, do the same thing as the method above using the shrimp. It will feed the bacteria which will then reproduce. Keep adding food each day and testing for Ammonia. When you have a positive result for ammonia, the cycle is starting. Having already had positive results for ammonia. When you finally achieve 3 straight ammonia free test results, the cycle is complete and your dry rock has started on its journey to becoming live.

Feeding Bacteria The Easy Way

The easier way to feed bacteria is, also, a technique that has been used for years. You feed the bacteria in the sand with bottled, liquid, ammonia. Just like the rotting fish food or shrimp, it will do the same thing. Giving the bacteria a source of ammonia to feed on. This process has been made far more simple in recent years as you can buy a bottle of ammonia specifically for the task at hand. No more worrying about whether your ammonia is pure or contains dyes.

Good ol’ Dr Tim has you covered for this with an aquarium safe bottle of ammonium chloride with a measured dripper to dispense the ammonia into your water. You simply add your bottled bacteria to the water straight away, observing the directions on the label. Then take your Dr Tim’s Ammonium Chloride and, following the instructions, add the specific amount of drops to your tank, relative to the quantity of water in there, each and every day.

You can now begin testing your water every day. What we are looking for is for that ammonia reading to vanish. When your ammonia test comes back negative. Test again for a day or two after. If you have a few successful negative ammonia readings, you are done. Your cycle is complete and your dry rock has started on its journey to becoming live.

What Is My Suggestion?

My choice has always been to use Dr Tim’s Ammonium Chloride. It is so ridiculously simple. The dropper makes dispensing easy and you know that the bacteria in your aquarium is getting a perfect dose of exactly what it needs to begin reproducing. You also don’t have to contend with the potential smell from rotting shrimp or the much from rotting food.

There are things to consider, though. If you consistently forget to add food or ammonia, your bacteria will die and you may find yourself back at square one. This process will take longer with live sand thanks to the amount of bacteria contained within it but it can still happen. Dr Tim’s ammonia costs around £10 which might be more than you are willing to spend. Rotting food will dirty your filters and will require active maintenance as the process goes on. The shrimp even more so.

A Few Notes

When it comes to the live sand method, I doubt you will find many people who support it as the best option. As mentioned above, it can be a perfectly effective way of doing things but it comes at a premium. I repeatedly see people doubt the levels of bacteria in live sand, as well. I will be testing this theory in the future but, until then, it is hard to justify the extra expense.

I started my first aquarium with live sand and it worked fine. I wouldn’t believe the claims of it being instantly cycling and I certainly wouldn’t add any fish until I had seen a few negative ammonia tests after having already added ammonia. I would also advocate for adding a bottle of bacteria, along with the live sand, to go for a brute force approach. Still, it is an option for turning your dry rock into live rock and one that plenty of people choose to follow. The decision is completely up to you.