Sand for a Refugium

[johnfluevogs]

I have a bottle of sand collected from the beach in Cape Cod that I was going to use for my refugium. Is this a good idea.

It is and was dry, and is quite fine grain.

I figured that after some time the sand would be come and work as well as the live sand you buy at the LFS.

Please comment, thanks.

 

[Anonymous]

Sure it will work. But if it's just beach sand, it's probably silicate based. do the vinegar test and see.

If not, try to find some southdown/oldcastle. then add a scoop from your main tank to get it seeded. Also, if you've got another reefer around you, you could trade a cup for a cup and get even more life!

B

 

[Anonymous]

It will add nothing good to your tank but there is a chance it could add something bad.

Set it on a shelf and leave it out of your aquarium IMO.

 

[romunov]

If it's not live sand, just dump it behind your house. It won't do any good, and like Guy said, can cause only problems.

 

[mapache]

If you have one, or even have a remote idea how they work, the following will make sense.

Protein skimmers, foam fractionators, or what I wish they would be called - sea foam generators all pull the nasty stuff out of the water. All the foam ends up on the beach where it gets broken down by the sun, leeching into the beach sand. Since you're trying to get all that stuff out of your aquarium, why start off by adding more crap in there?

Also, don't forget the biggest polluters on the planet. People! Tons of people have been at that beach. Cigarettes, alcohol, all types of drugs and other things you don't want in your tank can, or probably have been in, on and around that sand you just brought home. If you could have gone out into the water even 100 yards and got sand from the ocean floor there, that would have been immeasurably better.

Throw it away and just pay the money for good sand now, rather than trying to fix all those problems later.

 

[johnfluevogs]

you all make good points

thats why i asked the question

For the record I will not be useing that sand for my fish tank and now need a recommendation for a subtrate to purchase for my refugium.

 

[Anonymous]

How big is your refugium and what is the primary purpose for the refugium?

 

[johnfluevogs]

it is a 10 gallon that is connect to a 30 gallon cube system. I am looking for the added benifits of a refugium. I would like for it to be a home for hermit crabs, snails, calerpa, alage, worms, mysis, live rock etc.

 

[Anonymous]

I'd suggest 1/2" of a calcium carbonate fine grained sand. Most fish stores should carry sand for marine tanks. A small 5 pound bag should do it.

IMO the Hermits (hunter) & the Worms (prey) are incompatible.

 

[johnfluevogs]

no hermits then

snails are ok right?

 

[Anonymous]

snails are ok right?

Only Snails that eat Detritus and/or Algae. Stay away from Carnivores. If you buy them from a store they are probably safe.

Cerith and Stomatella are awesome for refugiums. Ceriths clean up detritus and Stomatella clean up Diatoms. They reproduce freely in a refugium and their populations are self-regulating.

Fireworms are also a great benefit.

 

[johnfluevogs]

Awsome thanks for the advice.

my goal in all this was to help my system become "live." I use synthetic Black sand for my sand bed and it is fantastic other than the fact that it was not seeded with anything at the beginning. Now after about a year it is probably live but I figure I will be able to keep other living organisms that are beneficial in a refugium for added benefit.