New...Sand BEd Question

chrischick · 02-24-2004, 07:21 AM

Alright...Im new and have been doing alot of reasearch..but no where have i found any info concerning my question...I know that southdown as well as old castle sand makes a great sand bed. My questions however, Could I use sand from any of my local beaches?I live in Canada, the beaches are all safe to swim...and they have plenty of sea life around them. Could I use this for live sand, or just boil it and use it for crushed aragonite...Sorry if this is a stupid question.....There is some beautiful white sand around and i would love to use it..

Matt Rogers · 02-24-2004, 11:26 AM

This came up not too long ago, do a search for beach sand.

Basically it's your call. Someone in New York can't tell you not to use your sand, you know what I mean?

However there are collection laws you should look into.

This is what I did. I looked on the map, found the most isolated, undeveloped beach in my area and got some from there. I got the wet stuff near the water. I love it. I don't have any problems with it.

But that doesn't mean you won't. It's so hard to say, but if you scout out a nice spot, have permission to collect, then it could work out. Some people just don't think it's worth the risk if it's polluted.

Hope that helps.
Thanks for joining!
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chrischick · 02-24-2004, 01:37 PM

So what if I was to boil it??Would this not help get rid of any things that shouldnt be in there?
I dont know how "live" the sand would be at thi stime of year...theres 5 feet of snow outside and its freezin cold....think Iits worth a shot?Ho wwill I know if there is any pollutants in it?Or Let me guess..I wont know till its too late right.

chrischick · 02-24-2004, 01:41 PM

Also,
wondering if anyon ehas heard or used this sand...this is the only stuff available to me in good ol Canada.....
http://www.quikrete.com/catalog/PlaySand.html

You guys wanna give me some input..thatd be great...cheers

Matt Rogers · 02-24-2004, 03:09 PM

[quote author=chrischick link=board=Newbie;num=1077646862;start=0#2 date=02/24/04 at 16:37:07]So what if I was to boil it??Would this not help get rid of any things that shouldnt be in there?
I dont know how "live" the sand would be at thi stime of year...theres 5 feet of snow outside and its freezin cold....think Iits worth a shot?Ho wwill I know if there is any pollutants in it?Or Let me guess..I wont know till its too late right.[/quote]

Ha.. boiling it will do something but you may still have metals and other stuff, who knows! Seriously, like I said, it's a judgement call.

Quickrete got a decent rating from Karla I believe (karlas username) . If you dig through the sand forum, you'll might find her talking about it.

thumper_s98343 · 03-05-2004, 10:05 PM

hello everyone i am the one who asked the same ??????? i will tell you what i read about it------ there it a lot difrent kinda of bugs in cold SW then in worm SW i was going to do it and save me $20 but it is not worth the hasle and problumes you will have don't feal dum for asking ???? we all do it it is better to ask then to just do it ......ok ....... if you have any more ?????? we are all hear to help
welcome to 3 reefs
thumper_s98343

chrischick · 03-07-2004, 05:42 AM

I talked to the institue of marine biology in my area and they have metal and toxin tests on all the sand on our coast...It can be used as there is no real toxins, there is silicates however as the sand is derived from granite, so, therefore, it is not what im looking for. I also what something that will help with my nitrate, nitrites, and everything else...thsi sand will not although it is pretty white and is safe to use..So Im going to be going with a combo of sand at www.jlaquatics.com . I was thinking of 40lbs of the special seafloor, with 90lbs of sugersand..that way I will have some sugersand left over for topups..Im going with all live rock so my sand will be seeded soon enough.Thanks guys, any other ideas you would suggest on that link?

Craig Manoukian · 03-07-2004, 06:34 AM

Any larger grained sand will rise to the top. *Uniform sized sand will result in a uniform substrate distribution. *Aragonite sand has calcium with helps your tank. *The smaller the grain of sand the moe surface area for denitrifying bacteria. *HTH