"live sand" die off enough to start cycle???

[reefnewbi]

hey guys i finshed setting up the 20 gallon and i have a question. i bought a 20 lb bag of the caribsea hawaiian black "live sand". now most of the stuff in there probably is dead, i was wondering if the die off from the critters would be enough to start the cycle, or should i just shrimp it?

 

[cloak]

That "live sand" in a bag is not necessarily "live" so to say... I don't think there's pods, worms etc in it, but the bacteria "might" have a shelf life...

That "shrimp" method is tried & true though. Time is your best friend. GL.