Can I use beach or dune sand for my reef aquarium?

[reefchile]

Hi everibody,
I am planning to build a reef tank 180x80x76 (71x31x30) and put in 5 cm sand bed which mean around 72 kg of sand.
Unfortunately, there is not sand "œproducer" in Chile and import 72 kg of sand will be really expensive.
So, I am thinking that we have a lot of beach and dune sand in Chile. The question is, can I took beach or dune sand and clean it to use in my reef aquarium? Maybe boil and after wash with soap, for example, in order to have a clean sand? There is a cleaning protocol? Do you have any other alternative?
Thanks for your help.
Best regards,

 

[dave.m]

No. It will be full of pollution washed up and stored in the sand over many years (beach tar). Even sand taken off the ocean bottom far away from shore must be rinsed and screened carefully.

Dave.M

 

[reefchile]

Thank Dave,
But, if even in the bottom far away in the ocean is not safe, from where come the sand that we buy in the store? what kind of treatment they did on it?
Best regards,

 

[dave.m]

Each supplier is different and guards their source jealously, but many of them are from inland deposits of aragonite sand. I don't know what filtering processes each company uses. You could write to some of the companies (they are all on the internet) and ask. I know some take sand from the beach but I have to rinse and re-rinse it carefully before I can use it, so I don't know if they processed it at all.

Dave.M

 

[reefchile]

Each supplier is different and guards their source jealously, but many of them are from inland deposits of aragonite sand. I don't know what filtering processes each company uses. You could write to some of the companies (they are all on the internet) and ask. I know some take sand from the beach but I have to rinse and re-rinse it carefully before I can use it, so I don't know if they processed it at all.

Dave.M

Bingo Dave, maybe I can use shell to do my own sand. There is a lot of it on the beach. What do you think?

 

[dave.m]

It is your risk. When you purchase from a supplier they will at least guarantee that their product won't be full of toxic substances that will stain your tank and kill whatever you put in it. If you do it on your own then you must accept the risk and assume full responsibility for whatever happens.

Dave.M