“Live Sand” , at first glance might appear to be plain old sand (wrong!). What makes this sand “live” are the millions of beneficial bacteria, worms (yes, worms!) and other microcrustraceans and other lifeforms that typically inhabit this unique “sand”. These beneficial (actually crucial) lifeforms are, to a great degree, a large part of the filtration system itself that not only helps keep your system healthy, but removes (metabolizes) much of what would be waste material you would (in the “old days”) have to remove manually through the use of a gravel vacuum or some other device. Much has changed.

Live sand is largely made up of crushed coral resulting from storm damage and natural decay processes. What most people regard as “sand” is Silicon Dioxide and is actually detrimental in a marine aquarium. Live sand is also beneficial because of it's composition, mainly Calcium, and is crucial to the marine aquarium environment. The salinity (and high pH) of saltwater causes the Calcium in the sand to slowly dissolve into the water which is then re-absorbed by nearby living reef animals and helps to rebuild new coral reefs. Once again, as we use the nature as our guide, and we try to replicate that environment, it takes care of itself and there is no maintenance involved to keep it healthy.

Over time, because some of the minerals in the live sand will dissolve, you will need to add a few handfuls of new sand (once every six months to a year). This is also a good thing because when you add new sand, you also introduce new species of beneficial bacteria which adds to the overall biodiversity (a very good thing!) and keeps the system healthy.