beach sand as substrate

[crete456]

Hello...I'm currently in the process of converting my FO tank to a FOWLR tank, so far Ive added about 8Lbs.of live rock, then if all goes well a reef tank...I currently have caribsea pink crushed coral for a substrate...is this OK or do I have to switch to sand and if so would it be OK to use sand from the beach being I live near the ocean here in New Jersey...the live sand they sell online or at the LFS id soooooo expensive...thanks Denny

 

[Anonymous]

Hey Denny,
:welcome:

Even if you knew of a very remote beach somewhere in the south pacific that no one ever visited I would be very suspect of putting it in my tank.

But Jersey sand? - Woo.. - NO WAY!

That CaribSea stuff is ok.. - Lots of people have lots of opinions on the commercially bagged stuff, but yeah, what you have is fine.

The deal with ive sand is that you only need a real little bit of it..

What you do is, put the dead (dry) stuff in to get the level of sand you want (people have different opinions there too.) Then after you have that in and your water, go to the LFS and get like a pound of live sand for every 50 gallons of tank that you have. Then, when you get home with it (right away, treat it like it was a sensitive fish) you take and spread it out over the top of your existing "dead" (no longer dry) sand..

All "live" sand is is sand with a bunch of tiny life in and around it. - Not just bacteria, but a lot of times theres tiny stars, pods, worms and stuff that help take care of the "leftovers" basically..

Norm

 

[Anonymous]

or, you can just ask around your local reefers for a cup of sludge from their tanks, most will be glad to do it. Also, if you are PATIENT and only add good quality liverock for the first 3-4 months, the critters on the rock will colonize the sand. The problem is most people add predators before the "critter" population is stabilized.

 

[Anonymous]

Hey, stop knocking fellow Jersians! :twisted:


They are right though. :lol: Don't do it. Also, because there is live stuff that could die off just on the temperature difference when you put it in your tank.

 

[Anonymous]

Hey, stop knocking fellow Jersians! :twisted:

heh - If you knew what I did on those beaches back when I lived in philly, you wouldn't want to step off the boardwalk..

 

[Anonymous]

Hey, stop knocking fellow Jersians! :twisted:

heh - If you knew what I did on those beaches back when I lived in philly, you wouldn't want to step off the boardwalk..

EWWW TMI Normie!