Seachem Pearl Beach is an all natural aragonite substrate for all types of marine, reef and tropical aquaria. Its chemical composition will assist in stabilizing calcium and alkalinity while preventing large pH declines. Unlike competing “wet” gravels, Seachem Pearl Beach is sold dry, with each bag contains 35% more gravel than a bag of wet gravel of equal weight. These “wet” gravels are marketed to give one the impression that they contain living, microscopic animals, when in fact they only contain common bacteria. Dry or wet, there are bacteria on every substrate. If one is concerned with shortening the aquarium cycle time for a new system, then the use of a product designed for that particular purpose would be more appropriate (such as Seachem’s Stability).