Live sand cycling

[AdamNC]

How much difference is there between using live sand as compared to using bacteria in a bottle. On a new build I’m using 30 lbs of dry Tropic Eden Reef Flakes and I just picked up 16 lbs of live Carib-Sea Natural Reef. The live sand should have a good bit of bacteria alive and I’m sure some dead. For rock a good bit of it will be bleach washed and about 1/4 will be live.

https://premiumaquatics.com/products/tropic-eden-reefflakes-aragonite-sand-30lb.html

https://www.bulkreefsupply.com/natural-reef-arag-alive-live-sand-caribsea.html

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Obviously it varies a lot, and depends on how much you use, but I expect bacteria in a bottle may be potentially be more effective than live sand if the sand has been bagged for a substantial (and typically unknown) period of time.