minimum requirements to keep live sand "live"??

[Swim74]

I recently broke down a fish only tank. I put all the live sand in a bin with a lid and water on top.

this was like a week ago.

will that sand all be fouled out now?

or is it still "alive"?
I know the bags of sand they sell you in the pet store in bags are technically "alive" with the beneficial bacteria.

my current configuration of sand in a bin with water on top with a lid is roughly the same idea I would think...

I just dont want to set my tank up to fail by using "dead sand"

the bin with sand and water has not been heated either.

 

[Swim74]

just to clarify, the sand is in a bin. the bin also has water in it. its mostly sand though. its a 33 gallon bin about half full of sand the rest water..

would you use it?

 

[Moe_K]

how does it smell?

 

[Swim74]

thanks Moe-
I will check tonight, I am heading back to the old place to attempt to move the 55 reef set up.

I am not going to be in a rush to use this stuff regardless, I should have set it up better when I broke it down.

 

[Swim74]

okay, gave it a good whiff last night, its not stinky at all.....

is that a good thing???


I'll have a bunch of free sand to give away soon if its good!

 

[Moe_K]

It'll be good at least to help seed new sand beds.

 

[NanoReefer]

All you need is a small powerhead in the bin if you have enough water in there. Circulation will keep the sand alive (keep oxygen in the water by breaking the surface tension), it should remain live for as long as there is water in the bin.