Live Sand and Salt Mixes

[Bob1]

Do you use live sand in a package and what salt do you recommend.

[jpkboca]

Live sand in a package is a waste IMO. Just get a cup of a local reefers sand, or the LFS.

Those bags can't be alive, just look at the expiration date they are like 1.5 years in the future, nothing will live like that.

I use Instant Ocean, it works fine, and is cheap.

[oppih]

I use Instant Ocean..

[kurquhart1]

instant ocean

[IslandCrow]

That bagged "live" sand probably does have plenty of bacteria in there that's still alive, but not much else. Even if you use 100% dry sand, you live rock will seed it in pretty short order. Getting a cup of actual live sand from an established tank should work quite well. As far as salt mixes, that can be a complicated answer. Instant Ocean is a pretty good all around salt, but it's not really designed for a reef tank if you're planning on keeping corals (especially corals with hard skeletons) or clams. The same company that makes Instant Ocean also makes Reef Crystals, which is also a very popular brand. I use a 50/50 mix of Instant Ocean and Oceanic. If you start keeping a lot of corals, you'll probably end up needing to supplement extra calcium, alkalinity and magnesium no matter what you get, so at least initially, I'd go with a name brand (IO, Oceanic, Seachem, etc.) that's not too expensive and readily available.