Dunes Sand
- Thread starter Pepito
- Start date
Mr James
Premium Member
Re: Dunes Sand
Yes, don't use it. Unless you are the first person to walk on it, which we aren't. I lived in Florida and wouldn't dare use that sand, none of it!! What things could be bad?? Suntan lotion, cigarettes, human urine/feces, etc.... Ideally, you would want to go out to sea a few miles and get the sand from there.
Yes, don't use it. Unless you are the first person to walk on it, which we aren't. I lived in Florida and wouldn't dare use that sand, none of it!! What things could be bad?? Suntan lotion, cigarettes, human urine/feces, etc.... Ideally, you would want to go out to sea a few miles and get the sand from there.
Irvine Man
So Cal ReefCentral surfer
even that sand from the ocean I would never use. Too many contaminants for such a small volume of water(tank). By dry sand for your tank and maybe seed it with one of those "live"sand bags or sand from a friends tank.
NOTHING in this hobby is worth the risk.
NOTHING in this hobby is worth the risk.
Understood. I don't want to take any unnecessary risks. I was more thinking about the dunes 15 miles north of vegas which prob have less traffic then most beaches, but no place on earth is untouched by us humans lol. I'm sure theres plenty bad stuff from us there too. Thanks for the replies.
BigRedSpecial
New member
I use locally collected beach sand(from a lake) in my freshwater tank with no problems at all(except getting annoyed by always having to explain to people where I got such fine sand
).
With that said, I would NEVER try it in a reef tank. I gambled with the freshwater tank and won; if I had lost, I would have been out a few common fish and plants. If I lost that same gamble with a reef, I could potentially be out thousands of dollars and rare(possibly even threatened) species.
The potential risks, no matter how unlikely, do not outweigh the positives. Especially when the only positive is a few bucks saved.
).With that said, I would NEVER try it in a reef tank. I gambled with the freshwater tank and won; if I had lost, I would have been out a few common fish and plants. If I lost that same gamble with a reef, I could potentially be out thousands of dollars and rare(possibly even threatened) species.
The potential risks, no matter how unlikely, do not outweigh the positives. Especially when the only positive is a few bucks saved.
dogstar74
Premium Member
As was said before, the sand is silica and not aragonite. Thus it would be at least neutral to the tank, but at most would irritate the inhabitants. I don't think that would be such a huge deal, as the sand off the coast of california is silica too.
However, if the sand has a red coloration, there is probably high concentrations of Iron in the sand, and I can immagine that it would leach out slowly, and if red sand has iron, I'm sure other metals... Uh hem(copper) can also be found in some of the terra firma sand masses.
But hey, you can always be a guinea pig and try!
Good luck
Aaron.
However, if the sand has a red coloration, there is probably high concentrations of Iron in the sand, and I can immagine that it would leach out slowly, and if red sand has iron, I'm sure other metals... Uh hem(copper) can also be found in some of the terra firma sand masses.
But hey, you can always be a guinea pig and try!
Good luck
Aaron.
bill-fit
New member
I went to the beach, Newport Oregon and collected sand at the top of the dunes picked the little sticks and stuff out of it and used it in my tank and remote sand bed it worked great. This was silica based sand sugar fine.
The only thing I didnt like about it was it was a dark color and blew around easy so now I'm only going to use it in the remote sand bed.
The only thing I didnt like about it was it was a dark color and blew around easy so now I'm only going to use it in the remote sand bed.
Pepito,
If your location is Las Vegas, and your sand is from the local area there. I'm with dogstar74. There is gold and silver in Nye county, but Lead and Copper are found in traces from the Clark county quarries. Most of the stone around you Is Granite, Volcanic, and Gypsum.
Erick
If your location is Las Vegas, and your sand is from the local area there. I'm with dogstar74. There is gold and silver in Nye county, but Lead and Copper are found in traces from the Clark county quarries. Most of the stone around you Is Granite, Volcanic, and Gypsum.
Erick
Thanks for the replies guys. I'm definitely not going to take the risk.
I actually was under the impression that these dunes were limestone/calc carbonate. In fact I didn't even think silica had the properties to be able to grind down and blow that far like that. Thanks for the correction. So I'm definitely glad I asked you guys! I woulda seen the difference in the sand when I picked it up, as silica reflects and shimmers where calc carb doesn't. Of course it's the other things like metals and pollutions unseen I'm glad you guys warned me about. Thanks.
Tha said, I've used silica sand before from home depot before as a DSB with no ill effect. As most of you prob know, silica is insoluble in water other wise we wouldn't have power heads in our tanks (plastic and rubber oh no! lol). I had plenty of fauna in my bed, but I'd like to use something from calc carb to see if the texture (smooth vs sharp) between the two would be easier on my sand dwelling creatures. And although it isn't a big deal at all, that pure white color will look nicer then brown for sure.
Well sorry for the long winded post after my question has already been answered. Thanks again for the advice; it will be much appreciated and followed /bow
I actually was under the impression that these dunes were limestone/calc carbonate. In fact I didn't even think silica had the properties to be able to grind down and blow that far like that. Thanks for the correction. So I'm definitely glad I asked you guys! I woulda seen the difference in the sand when I picked it up, as silica reflects and shimmers where calc carb doesn't. Of course it's the other things like metals and pollutions unseen I'm glad you guys warned me about. Thanks.
Tha said, I've used silica sand before from home depot before as a DSB with no ill effect. As most of you prob know, silica is insoluble in water other wise we wouldn't have power heads in our tanks (plastic and rubber oh no! lol). I had plenty of fauna in my bed, but I'd like to use something from calc carb to see if the texture (smooth vs sharp) between the two would be easier on my sand dwelling creatures. And although it isn't a big deal at all, that pure white color will look nicer then brown for sure.
Well sorry for the long winded post after my question has already been answered. Thanks again for the advice; it will be much appreciated and followed /bow
