Collecting from the beach?

[chris85]

Red tide is a species of dinos.

 

[Oldsalt]

I'm very fortunate to live in Perth Western Australia because the beaches of the Indian Ocean and estuaries are pristine. Plenty of Chaetomorpha in the estuaries but you have to separate it from other macroalgae. There is Gracilaria (red macroalgae) too which is relished by our herbivores. When I trim my ever growing Gracilaria and put it in the DT, it's consumed within a few minutes by Foxface and Tang. One of the the best things I did was to use some mud from an estuary in my fuge. Paul B posted not long ago about doing these things and I had been thinking about it. His advice then followed and I took a 20 minute drive to collect. I wound up scooping up tiny shrimp in my net. When I isolated them and rinsed them in clean saltwater (I have 1000 litres Indian Ocean water delivered every 3 months for 50 bucks to store in an outside drinking water container) I threw them into the DT and the carnivores went nuts chasing them, then gobbling them up whole. Also some fantastic shells there for my hermit crabs. Then there's the pods you get within the macroalgae. They populate quickly and become a nutritious meal. None of my stock has ever gotten diseases. A lot of the local reefers here have been doing this for years and they swear by it.

 

[William Norman]

Here is the site from Fl Fish and Wildlife. It has links to the details https://myfwc.com/research/habitat/coral/news-information/rules-and-regulations/

My understanding is to collect anything live you need to have a fishing license and it cant be on a restricted list. Many corals are restricted. All Rock is restricted. (the regs says live rock, but talking to a Ranger that means any wet rock). Most invertebrates are ok. Sand can be regulated by your town. From talking to many people if you take a jar no one is going to care. But be careful many of the beaches have been re-built with high silica sand. so you don't want a lot of it.

I did once have a "very nice" lady tell my wife and I, that we cant collect shells from in front of her property. It is public property beach, I say. Her answer was she paid for the view when she bought the house, that includes that shells on the beach. LOL! Challenge Accepted! We ignored her and purposely stayed and picking up every shell we could find in front of her house on the public part of the beach. The beaches here in FL are all public between the mean high tide and the ocean, basically if it gets wet during the day, it is public.

 

[Mr pink]

Sand is legal to take in Florida but not live rock. I wouldn’t take any off the beach. Swim out to the reef and grab a scoop. You have a better shot of it being cleaner out there.

 

[Anchor]

I am pretty sure I will move to Florida if and when I get to retire.

 

[cobast]

I'm in Sydney Australia and have collected various things from the local beaches and rock shelves. - I have a licence to collect limited quantities. When I set up my fuge I threw in a bucket of live beach sand with no ill effects. I've had limited success with alga probably as it is temperate here and not tropical. Kelp lasts several weeks and the fish love it but others like Neptune's necklace and ribbon grass last only a few days before they start dropping 'leaves'. I've also had reasonable success with various snails. It's definitely worth a try. Good luck.

 

[ZoWhat]

The only thing you should be collecting from.the beach is a sunburn

 

[OpenOcean33]

The only thing you should be collecting from.the beach is a sunburn

Dont even need to be at the beach for that one here lol

 

[OpenOcean33]

I'll post some pictures of some stuff I see, not collecting anything right now just to show all the stuff I find and if you guys can help me identify.

 

[Ksmmike]

I live in South Florida and have taken coral fossils that wash up on the beach. I would never take live coral from a reef, but shells on the beach, ok. I also use pieces of sand dollars to mount frags rather than plugs. I let the fossils sit in a bucket of water and bleach for a few days and then sit out along the pool for weeks. I let the rain and sun get rid of the bleach. I then put them in a bucket of salt water (the same type I use in my tank) with a powerhead for at least 60 days. I put in phosphate remover in the water and check to make it as close as possible to the parameters to match my tank, including feeding pellets or mysis in the tank. I've never had a problem using them in the main display later on. Essentially I create live rock from dead rock. I mount acans, zoas, leptos ect on the coral fossils. I think it makes for a more natural looking reef. I also used small snail shells that my hermits have used.

 

[OpenOcean33]

I live in South Florida and have taken coral fossils that wash up on the beach. I would never take live coral from a reef, but shells on the beach, ok. I also use pieces of sand dollars to mount frags rather than plugs. I let the fossils sit in a bucket of water and bleach for a few days and then sit out along the pool for weeks. I let the rain and sun get rid of the bleach. I then put them in a bucket of salt water (the same type I use in my tank) with a powerhead for at least 60 days. I put in phosphate remover in the water and check to make it as close as possible to the parameters to match my tank, including feeding pellets or mysis in the tank. I've never had a problem using them in the main display later on. Essentially I create live rock from dead rock. I mount acans, zoas, leptos ect on the coral fossils. I think it makes for a more natural looking reef. I also used small snail shells that my hermits have used.

I to have a lot of coral fossils and shells, I find alot of dead sand dollar but never though of taking then with me

 

[Dkeller_nc]

I can't comment on the legalities, though I do still have some natural Florida live rock from before the ban went into effect in Federal waters from the early 1990s. But to PaulB's point, there's very little risk of introducing something from collected sand that's going to do harm to your reef. For one, you're introducing microbes from mariculture farms from across the Pacific every time you introduce a coral, and things like snails and hermits bring these microorganisms in as well. In other words, the things that you can't see that might be introduced from the sand at the beach is highly likely to already be in your tank; the things that you can see (like worms, tiny crustaceans, etc...) are the ones that you're after.

From the standpoint of pollution, there's really only one thing from a public beach that you might want to be concerned about - PABA-free sunscreen that contains oxybenzone, which is toxic to corals in parts-per-trillion amounts. But the other things you might be thinking of, like raw sewage, is just fertilizer for your reef.

 

[michael giordano]

I second the sunscreen comment, please people do not come to Florida and wear any sunscreen with oxybenzone. It’s incredibly toxic, I believe Hawaii bands it all together. I grew up in Florida as well and I can tell you sunscreen and trash are the worst things on the beach. I got to beach on regular and take a garabage bag and fill it up in about an hour on any given section here in south Florida.

 

[OpenOcean33]

I can't comment on the legalities, though I do still have some natural Florida live rock from before the ban went into effect in Federal waters from the early 1990s. But to PaulB's point, there's very little risk of introducing something from collected sand that's going to do harm to your reef. For one, you're introducing microbes from mariculture farms from across the Pacific every time you introduce a coral, and things like snails and hermits bring these microorganisms in as well. In other words, the things that you can't see that might be introduced from the sand at the beach is highly likely to already be in your tank; the things that you can see (like worms, tiny crustaceans, etc...) are the ones that you're after.

From the standpoint of pollution, there's really only one thing from a public beach that you might want to be concerned about - PABA-free sunscreen that contains oxybenzone, which is toxic to corals in parts-per-trillion amounts. But the other things you might be thinking of, like raw sewage, is just fertilizer for your reef.

sunscreen honestly went right over my head but totally makes sense. I remember reading the Hawaii ban a couple months ago.

 

[Ksmmike]

I to have a lot of coral fossils and shells, I find alot of dead sand dollar but never though of taking then with me

I don't take full sand dollars. I rarely see them in tact. I find small broken pieces, usually less than 2 across. They are broken sections. I round them off and use them.

 

[T Carey]

i'll be taking the family down to florida next month. will have to look into the regs and figure out what i can and cannot take back with me. I'll be driving, so TSA wont be an issue. just need to convince the SO to let me bring a bucket down... lol

My suggestion is to get a styrofoam box that they ship fish in. line it with a plastic garbage bag. put your sand and sea weeds etc. in the bag with a couple of inches of water. Buy on of those battery powered air pumps for bait buckets and an air stone. Poke a hole through the top of the box for the air line & air stone. Wrap the plastic bag around the air line and tie it with some string. Put the lid on and you are good to go. I brought a bunch of live rock and snails back from a LFS in Ft. Walton bch to Arlington Texas that way with no issues. Everything arrived alive.

 

[link81]

My suggestion is to get a styrofoam box that they ship fish in. line it with a plastic garbage bag. put your sand and sea weeds etc. in the bag with a couple of inches of water. Buy on of those battery powered air pumps for bait buckets and an air stone. Poke a hole through the top of the box for the air line & air stone. Wrap the plastic bag around the air line and tie it with some string. Put the lid on and you are good to go. I brought a bunch of live rock and snails back from a LFS in Ft. Walton bch to Arlington Texas that way with no issues. Everything arrived alive.

Awesome idea. Thanks.

 

[Ferrell]

Man y’all are making me home sick for Bonita Springs. Long way from there and the beautiful beaches.

 

[Ferrell]

You can find free floating “mangrove seeds” all over the place during the right time of year. Pick a few up, wrap in a moist towel toss in a large baggie and fly home. Wish I was still there

 

[OpenOcean33]

Just sharing a little shell find from the week.