Quote Originally Posted by Ping
Seed the sand bed with a newly cured piece of live rock or some black sand from someone else's tank and your sand will become live with time.
Thanks Ping....I knew this was the case with the sugar sized aragonite sand I used in my previous tank, but wasn't too sure about the black sand...

I have a 42 gallon that I was using as a sump, that I want to start up until I can get my 220 set up.....That way I at least have some rock and corals to put in the big one when I finally get a chance to get it running....

I want to try the black sand for the smaller tank with the 1" sand bed you suggested...then for the larger tank, I will use the regular sugar sized DSB, I was thinking between 5 - 6 inches.....I could then probably throw this black sand in the sump since it should be full of life by then...

Thank you all for the help.