Beach sand

[IslandCrow]

I live near the Gulf in Florida, and with all this talk about Southdown and other types of sand, I was wondering if there are any issues with using sand straight off the beach. I never hear anyone talk about doing that, so are there issues with it? I have no idea whether it's silicate based or not, and there certainly aren't any coral reefs nearby. Is this a viable alternative or something I should stay away from?

 

[Mr James]

Don't do it. Beach sand belongs on the beach. Southdown is mined off the coast of Miami. I would compare beach sand in your tank to something as "safe" as you drinking from a local freshwater river or lake. It's odd that we live in Florida and don't have access to a product mined in this state. Weird huh??

 

[Casie]

Hi IslandCrow =)

I have family on the outerbanks of NC and one year I brought back a 5 gallon bucket of beach sand (about half full). I put it in the closet and forgot all about it. Months later, we set up a little Q-tank and thats when I remembered the bucket. For fun we completed the little tank with a fluffy 2" of the sand.

The sand was clean and dry and white with little bits of shell... so pretty!

The only suprise we got was, it instantly bloomed crazy macro algeas! Bright red stalks of stuff that looked like grape calerpa, and long leafy green stuff, and rubbery light brown ruffled stuff with tiny dark brown spots... it was awesome! It was great fun to watch and it lasted a very long time. Eventually it began to die back, and my need for the Q-tank was long over so I took it down.

I really enjoyed the little tank! But I would have been horrified if that had happened in my main tank.

 

[RGBMatt]

I always use beach sand (collected wet) in my tanks. IMO it helps the tank cycle faster since it's already colonized with bacteria. Plus, you often get little worms and crustaceans that look neat and are probably beneficial. Same idea as live rock.

However, as with live rock, it's a good idea to run the tank empty for a little while after it's been set up. Dead organic matter in the sand bed can cause ammonia spikes so it's good to let everything settle for a bit.

 

[bkwudzjeep]

If it's near a populated beach, I'd be especially weary......with all the suntan lotions and such.

 

[JmLee]

i agree with bkwudzjeep. I thought about it at one point, but i live by the cold waters of monterey bay.

 

[piranhaking]

if you do get wild sand go out a good ways in a boat first. I personally wouldnt do it.

 

[Mr James]

I ended up breaking down and buying the expensive stuff from the LFS. I need more and plan on making a roadtrip to get some as well as some live rock. Hopefully a fellow RC'er nearby will be selling some.

 

[Kitteness]

I read about how you can use the coldwater sand, rock, and creatures in tropical tanks as some of it will survive in it? Is this true?

 

[DaveG99]

I have about 1-2 " of sand I gathered from the intercoastal. I recently added 2-3" of the aragonite sand. I think the white sand looks the best

 

[Blesum]

I used local wet sand and have not had any issues with it although I do hear it is silicate based. I've got a whole bunch of worms and animals living in there. Also in some spots I do seem to have a thin layer of algae growing but my sea hare, nudibraches, hermits and snails must be keeping it under control since it isn't a problem.

-Paul

 

[gofish]

I would just be wary of pollution from the beach and water. Others here have some really good points...both for and against the collection of sand. I think it is illegal to collect sand where I live??

 

[JmLee]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7055629#post7055629 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Kitteness
I read about how you can use the coldwater sand, rock, and creatures in tropical tanks as some of it will survive in it? Is this true?

one time i " borrowed " a hermit crab from the tide pools over here
" Cold water " and put it in my reef tank. He actually survived for 2 weeks untell one of my electric blue hermits got a hold of him and ate him . Another thing is that most parasites that live in cold water will die in tropical waters so there ya go....

 

[IslandCrow]

Thanks for all the replies. It sounds like it's probably fairly risky. Perhaps if I ever get back into SCUBA diving I may try it out, quarantining the sand for at least a couple weeks first of course. In the mean time, I think I'll continue my search for Southdown. I may very well hold off on spending the time to convert to a DSB, since I'll probably be moving in a couple years anyway.

 

[Mr James]

IslandCrow. If you find some sand please let me know. I'll split shipping with you. I am planning a roadtrip down to Tampa in a couple weeks to get live rock. If you want some sand from TBS or another in the area, I can get it for you.