Original Grade or Oolite

[SaltwaterNoob17]

Anyone have a preference on which is better: Carib Sea Orginal Grade Substrate or Carib Sea Oolite Substrate? What are the pros and cons of each type?

 

[VAreef]

I think I would vote neither. I haven't used em but they look like the same old live sand scam. You dont need live sand. Just 1 piece of LR can seed your entire substrate to make it live sand. It can also go on to grow many more pieces of LR. I spent less to sand my entire tank than they want for 1 bag of that stuff.

 

[yote]

Oolite is a finer grained sand. It'll get blown around some by the powerheads.The Orginal Grade is just a fraction bigger,but isnt as apt to get blown around by the water flow as much.
And like Va mentioned,get the dry sand.It'll become live in no time so no need to waste money on something that may or may not be there.

 

[SaltwaterNoob17]

Thanks guys. :sfish:

 

[reeffreak]

Either choice will work just fine.I have the original grade which is sugar size with some pieces of shells that is bigger.Like Yote mention,oolitic is very,very fine sand that can get blown around by the current.IMO there is nothing wrong with using the live sand.There is nothing wrong with adding as much live bacteria as possible when first setting up a system.The price difference between the Carib sea live and dry sand is negligible.Nothing wrong with going even 20% live,80% dry too.

 

[wontonflip]

IMO there is nothing wrong with using the live sand.There is nothing wrong with adding as much live bacteria as possible when first setting up a system.The price difference between the Carib sea live and dry sand is negligible.Nothing wrong with going even 20% live,80% dry too.

But if you buy live sand in a bag (as opposed to getting it from someone's tank), you don't really know though how long that live sand has been in a warehouse, and at what temp. How long can the bacteria last in those conditions? At least if you get it from a tank, you have more control on how long the sand stays fresh.

I did buy live sand, and I regretted it. So unless I get sand from an established tank (that's hopefully not having any outbreaks), I prefer getting dry sand :) At least the rinsing process makes my hands nice and smooth! LOL

 

[reeffreak]

Of course,if they can get live sand from an establish tank the better.I'm just saying the Carib sea live sand price difference is so small that either choice will work or a combination of the two.My understanding is bacteria becomes inert until the conditions are right.So as long as the sand is moist and not boiling hot much of it will survive.I'm the opposite when it comes to rinsing.At least with live,you just dump it in,no rinsing and none of the fine powder that comes with the dry.