Sand from beach

[Wolf89]

can I collect sand from the beach for my tank? Atlantic beach, NC. Should I maybe bake it in oven to kill any pests? Thoughts?

 

[Lloyd Williams]

Lot of trouble with the law can be an unwanted hitchhiker

 

[GThompson]

Most pollutants wash up on the beach so it probably wouldn’t be worth it.

 

[lapin]

You can. I would get the dry stuff. Rinse it a few times.

 

[W1ngz]

sunscreen, dog poo, kid pee, surface oil slicks, leftover snacks, ants, algae spores, storm runoff...

yuck.

 

[tehmadreefer]

The sand is like a giant skimmer. Rinse it and dry in sun and it will be fine however.

 

[Mike.P]

Give it a good bleach soak, drain, soak in clean water with a bunch of conditioner/chlorine neutralizer, rinse. I'm sure it will be fine. *shrug* All the sand we buy starts out filthy, and gets treated one way or another.

 

[flsalty]

A long time ago, I used beach sand from below the low tide line. It had tons of life. I had no problems, but this was basically a FOWLR with wild caught livestock. I wasn't risking any expensive fish or corals.

Personally, if you are going to kill it you might as well just buy sand from the lfs.

 

[Steve34k]

I have beach sand from the gulf coast in my tank. I washed it very well. Looks awesome. Florida gulf coast sand is white quartz. Anyone have any issues with silica sand

 

[Westoncase]

can I collect sand from the beach for my tank? Atlantic beach, NC. Should I maybe bake it in oven to kill any pests? Thoughts?

I go to Atlantic beach quite often, idk if that’s your best bet.

 

[SEGA]

If it's like the sand in coastal Georgia, it's probably way too fine. Ours packs down tight when its wet and is quite hard.

I guess the upside might be that you could crank up your flow without it blowing around as bad

 

[Steve34k]

Beach sand

 

[mattybecks]

I have used beach sand in all my tanks. Freshwater and Marine. Marine I used only beach sand, freshwater I mixed pool filter sand with the beach sand.
It saves you cash, but it certainly does not save you time.
I would fill half a bucket with the sand, and then pour boiling water over it. and stir. After that I would sit there rinsing and swirling until the water was clear, and then I would do the next bucket. Each bucket I had to do 6 or 7 times.

I just wanted it for the look, but I wouldn't do it again haha.

It was Dubai beach sand if that means anything.

 

[mattybecks]

Heres what the sand looks like

 

[Steve34k]

Dubai beaches. Are crushed coral and shell. I can see using that. This is a big difference from my quartz beach sand. I think anyone would use that.

 

[Bleigh]

Love the look of the finer sand. Is this something that could be used if you have sand shifters still? I have a small tank, so I don't think it would take many buckets to cover the bottom.

 

[Steve34k]

I have just got back into this hobby after 30 years. It sure has changed. I like the look of the beach sand. It is quartz. That would b silica. I was told not to use it. But have seen people use play sand in beautiful reef tanks. I’m trying to use common sense. I got my sand on Florida gulf coast. There are sand sifters present there. So I assume it’s ok.