hey sorry I missed this.Curious as to what u ended up with??? Deciding between TBS and Ocean Direct as well.
I am still dragging my feet on this build for some reason.
"best practice" is to Qt sand and LR for 46 days in fish less tank @ 82-84F
that way you get the best of both worlds adding to the diversity and the QT benefits.
that said i did find TBS say this id was in 2022 tho so not sure if they have test again no not.
Here' s what I got for ya:
Speaking about live rock & sand harvested from our lease site in the Gulf of Mexico off Tarpon Springs that is transported submerged at all times and temporarily held in the Icehouse...according to Dr. Eli of AquaBiomics it has 0 parasites (Dinoflagellate responsible for Velvet, Ciliate responsible for Ich, Ciliate responsible for Brook, Ciliate responsible for Uronema, Monitpora eating Nudibranchs, Acropora eating flatworms, all 3 types of Gill Flukes Flatworms, Pyramidellidae snails, Apicomplexan parasite of claims/bivalves, Trichodina protozoan).
There is no need to qt fishless for 76 days if you buy TBS.
"The sample had DNA from a wide range of eukaryotic organisms, a community that looks similar to a reef tank community with a few differences. your list includes DNA from fish, corals, tunicates, bivalves, sponges, coralline algae, sea urchins, snails, sea cucumber, crabs, copepods, brittle stars, worms, and macro algae. Even though the sample gives us lots of data on the communities that include parasites (ciliates, dinos, amoeba, etc) none of the types we found in your sample are known parasites.
The lack of parasites in this sample is a nice result. I find one or more of the ciliates associated with Uronema in a lot of live rock so I'm always happy to find a clean rock tank. From the perspective of someone who tests and sells live rock as part of our business, this is a report I'd be happy with overall. Lots of desirable or at least typical parts of the reef community are present, and none of the parasites were detected."
As for keeping bacteria alive with ocean live sand and ocean live rock in a no fish system. Of course, bacteria can survive in that mini marine ecosystem with micro critters living and dying in the sand and in/on the rock. As long as there is good water quality, flowing, oxygenated and some light you should be good to go.
as i like the look of the special grade reef sand and not the TBS stuff I am thinking about adding 5lbs to the sump "fuge" area to make a cryptic zone.
I believe adding to to the DT would speed up the "seeding process"
anyone have feedback on that?