whats the differece?

[aquarium]

whats the difference between live rock and live sand......is live sand also a help to the cycling process.......im going to start a new salt water tank and i would live to do some research and know some info before i get started so help me please thanks

 

[gear-head]

Live Sand (LS) contains bacteria, creepy crawlies and the like. It will help speed up the cycling process, but it's not absolutely required. You can however, "seed" the rest of the sand with a cup or two of LS. Some LFS's will sell you some if you can't get some from a helpfull friend.