Beach Sand?

[PrettyBoy]

i was thinking of my 20 gallon set up while i was walking through the beach the other day and i was wondering,Can I use beach sand (from the shore) to place in my new future set up?what do you guys think

 

[DonCisco]

You can use beach sand, but some of the problems are, unwanted critters, and the bacteria in the shore is used to the water temperature of the mid-atlantic. If you start introducing tropical fish and raise the temperature to the required one. You will be killing off a lot of the original bacteria. Also, aragonite helps buffer the PH by releasing calcium carbonate, the sand up here is not quite as good I think. At least that is what I have read so far on beach sand.

 

[Quang]

I can use rock from a beach to aquascape my tank too but why would one do such a thing?
It's prolly impure and you don't know what it's composed of or what pollutants it might contain.
Unless you're planning to keep a local species or replicate your beach environment....even then, you're giving your tank a ..errr... bad start.

That's just the street logic... I don't want to even get into the chemical differences and such yet. Maybe someone else can assist you there.

Sand isn't that expensive, might as well do it right.
But hey, if you want to try it...try it. Post pics

 

[PrettyBoy]

is their any type of adjustment at all i can make,because it is sand and its natural from the ocean even though i know NY beach arent the cleanest but its pretty much the natural thing. I need more onfo on this guys i need more opinion before i dump the bucket i have

 

[noodleman]

my opinion, if you going to use it....wash it very well

 

[PrettyBoy]

thats what i was thinking of doing then placing it in the tank and letting the tank cycle for a few days and maybe throwing some damsels to break in the tank

 

[reefman]

i would not. there may be more than meets the eye. who knows what the sand may have been expose to can leach out over time.

 

[PrettyBoy]

even though i gave it a good wash,plus wouldnt the sand get acustomed to the tank conditions after a while

 

[jhale]

i would wash the sand really well, in tap water to kill off any bacteria.
make it as dead as possible. then start with just sand no stange things in it.

Also, please do not use fish to cycle your tank, this is cruel to the fish and is not done anymore. you can cycle the tank now many other ways. borrow a rock from a old tank, that's one way. then just wait a few weeks.

 

[PrettyBoy]

thanks jhale i was thinkin on doing that but i was not to sure.
Now is their anyone willing to give up some rock from their old tank because i dont have a old tank?

 

[deelucky]

i cycled my tank with raw shrimp from the local fish market i threw in three in my 29gal but after i started gettinng ammonia spike i took them out and just fed the tank until the cycle completed.

 

[PrettyBoy]

i think im going to give the beach sand a try

 

[DevIouS]

Dude....
curious as to why you ask for advice.....then when told it's not good, you decide to do it anyway.
If sand is your major expense now, I don't think it's the right time for you to be in the hobby.
Keep in mind that the live-stock you plan to put in that tank is not native to Orchard Beach.

Also do some research on cycling a tank. Like Jhale stated, putting helpless fish in there is not needed.

 

[Deanos]

I hope it's not Orchard Beach. That's nothing but imported sand on top of a landfill. :dead1:

 

[scarf_ace1981]

i would not use sand from any of the beaches in NY. especially Orchard...unless you want syringes and baby diapers in your sand. LOL

 

[Quang]

i would not use sand from any of the beaches in NY. especially Orchard...unless you want syringes and baby diapers in your sand. LOL

:iamwithst :tongue1: lol... not to mention condoms and an occasional animal limb here and there.

 

[loismustdie]

Sand on our beaches is extremely high in silicate. You'll be battling algae for years and blaming everything except the free sand you put in the tank.

 

[ReeferGoneMad]

hey man ur playing with fire. i would go with what everyone here is trying to tell you. they have established reef tanks and know their stuff. everyone that has posted has stated known facts about our lovely city sand. its polluted, could leech chemicals over time, as well as silicates which will make ur tank a doo doo brown tank. if ur willing to take chances and end up spending a fortune for a ten gallon tank i wouldnt do it. you could get a cheap bag of aragonite. metter fact i have a bag of dead aragonite i was going to use. but ur scaring me, do u want it because i feel safer if i give it to u.it just need a good tap water wash. pm me i live in brooklyn. could be 5 or more pounds which is better than nothing.

 

[Chiefmcfuz]

Buy sand it's cheap enough, just don't use the beach sand you will be starting off on a bad foot. .

 

[andylee]

Last time I looked, there were no fish, corals, hermit crabs, copepods, or anything else besides humans in the local New York beaches.

Those humans were throwing plastic, cigarette butts, soda bottles, junk food into the sand. They were carrying soap, shampoo, shaving cream, and who knows what else into the water. Boats near the shore leave petroleum residue in the water and sand.

I wouldn't want any of the above in my tank. Just thought I'd get a couple of kicks in while you were down!

Andy