Thinking about collecting some wild sand today?

cracker · Mar 17, 2018

I'm here on the East coast close to St Augustine Fl. Real nice place by the way. So I can get to several differing salt environs there. I can get some brown muddy stuff. More cleaner sand close to the inlet. some dirtier sand up a salt run etc. However the water is still pretty cold. I wonder if any bugs or bacteria might be dormant or such.
I want this poor Mans Miracle Mud /live sand for the 180. This tank just doesn't have much biolife in it. Running since August 2016 .The sand looks almost brand new. No worms or critters etc. I think this is because I had such a low fish count for all this time. Just now have 5 fish & one softy. There are no nutrients the chaeto won't kick in stuff like that.
Any opinions if it's still early to expect active bacteria /micro critters due to cooler water temps? Besides I'm trying to think of something to do today .
THANKS !

Crabs McJones · Mar 17, 2018

cracker said:
I'm here on the East coast close to St Augustine Fl. Real nice place by the way. So I can get to several differing salt environs there. I can get some brown muddy stuff. More cleaner sand close to the inlet. some dirtier sand up a salt run etc. However the water is still pretty cold. I wonder if any bugs or bacteria might be dormant or such.
I want this poor Mans Miracle Mud /live sand for the 180. This tank just doesn't have much biolife in it. Running since August 2016 .The sand looks almost brand new. No worms or critters etc. I think this is because I had such a low fish count for all this time. Just now have 5 fish & one softy. There are no nutrients the chaeto won't kick in stuff like that.
Any opinions if it's still early to expect active bacteria /micro critters due to cooler water temps? Besides I'm trying to think of something to do today .
THANKS !

While i've never heard of it actually happening, I guess it's possible for some bad bacteria or even algae spores to be on the sand. #reefsquad Also check and be careful, even though its just sand, some places have laws against collecting stuff like that

Have fun today

jsker · Mar 17, 2018

I would say go for it, I am not a biologist but I would assume that the sand has all the bacteria one would need and critters. I would suggest finding the cleanest water/sand environment as possible. I have been thinking of running over to the west coast and start getting my water change water

There is are some areas above Tamp with blue water from the gulf stream.

redfishbluefish · Mar 17, 2018

@Paul B is your guy.....he uses the muck from the Long Island Sound and throws that in his tank. He claims the biodiversity adds to the disease resistance of his fish. Hopefully he'll chime in and give details how he does this.

cracker · Mar 17, 2018

Good Morning gents ! It's going to be a nice day and I need to get out of the house. Still undecided. 90% of this is dragging my lazy butt out the door ! I might even take a fishing pole with me !

Crabs McJones · Mar 17, 2018

cracker said:
Good Morning gents ! It's going to be a nice day and I need to get out of the house. Still undecided. 90% of this is dragging my lazy butt out the door ! I might even take a fishing pole with me !

I suffer from this same issue

nautical_nathaniel · Mar 17, 2018

Get sand far away from the St John River Inlet/Outlet, that river is nasty sometimes. I'd also rinse the sand off a few times before adding it to your aquarium.

ReefSlice · Mar 17, 2018

I live in fort Myers and when I set up my mangrove tank I just picked up a few rocks from the gulf and shook them off real good in a bucket and dumped the contents in the tank. There's so much life in there you wouldn't believe it, worms, pods, shrimp, tinys clams, crabs, tunicates and more. Just be careful getting sand that it isn't full of little clams, as this can cause a big die off in the sand bed.

cracker · Mar 17, 2018

nautical_nathaniel said:
Get sand far away from the St John River Inlet/Outlet, that river is nasty sometimes. I'd also rinse the sand off a few times before adding it to your aquarium.

Agreed ! that's why I'm going to St A it's free from all that fresh , dubious water from the St John's river .

mtraylor · Mar 17, 2018

wow i'm jealous. Just going to tag along here to see how it goes.

cgdcinc · Mar 17, 2018

I would think getting it as far offshore as you could would be better. Quite a bit of pollution/fertilizers from land runoff. Might not be as bad up where you are. Down here in South Florida I don’t think I would risk it. Lots of septic drainage and the housing explosion has caused massive blooms. Not to mention farm runoff.
I wonder what, if any cleaning is done to miracle mud or where they get it from?

XNavyDiver · Mar 17, 2018

What are all these "rivers" "oceans" and "inlets" you speak of (as I look out my window)? Sand I got.

Bdrake · Mar 17, 2018

ReefSlice said:
I live in fort Myers and when I set up my mangrove tank I just picked up a few rocks from the gulf and shook them off real good in a bucket and dumped the contents in the tank. There's so much life in there you wouldn't believe it, worms, pods, shrimp, tinys clams, crabs, tunicates and more. Just be careful getting sand that it isn't full of little clams, as this can cause a big die off in the sand bed.

Watch yourself when you do that. Rock harvest is a big no-no in FL without proper licensing.

cgdcinc · Mar 17, 2018

Bdrake said:
Watch yourself when you do that. Rock harvest is a big no-no in FL without proper licensing.

This is true. Is collecting sand or mud in estuaries illegal? I have seen FWC ticketing people for collecting live rock. It’s frowned upon.

ReefSlice · Mar 17, 2018

Hence why I didn't take the rock, just the tiny critters and mud. I wish I could take live rock... I'd have a mountain curing out in the gulf!

mtraylor · Mar 17, 2018

If you live on the shore, have you tried to buy dry rock and place in the ocean for a couple months?

cracker · Mar 17, 2018

Oh Ya Florida is very strict on how the laws are written. Now any waters belongs to the state. If you put rock in it's theres. If You were to hang it in a mesh bag off a dock it's OK. You gotta have permits & whatnot to even grow Live rock like TBS. They went thru a lot of red tape to lease that section of ocean bottom where they place new rock. I'm not sure if taking a tupper ware full of sand home is legal probably is but any rock any bigger than a few square inchers which must be attached to an aproved coral is a big NO NO ! I looked into it it goes on & on with regs & rules. Check out" FWC mariculture leasing." if interested.
so anyway I stole some sand from 2 differing places one up in a salt march & one straight from the ocean under a fishing pier. I'll get some pics up soon.

cracker · Mar 17, 2018

Ok Here are some pics For Your viewing pleasure. the 1st came from the ocean surf line under the fishing pier. It's mostly silica sand mixd with busted up seashell The water was very clear there is over an inch of water over the sand.

The second is a more finel crushed seashell called Coquinna. This was collected way up slough of St Augustine inlet. It was too muddy there but there was a vein of this stuff so I took a scoop from that. Yhe muddy stuff was very silty & black a few inches down.the black triangle is a fossilized shark tooth.

cgdcinc · Mar 17, 2018

Keep us posted on how the tank reacts to it. It has to be full of goodies in that coquina. Most of St.Augustine was built from that stuff.

cracker · Mar 17, 2018

I "think" I will leave it the tupper ware container or similar & set it in a quiet corner. I would think the critters/benny's will come out on their own . I can rinse it with some new salt water. One has some algae in it. Or should leave it bee. I don't want to wash away any tiny amphipods & copopods. I'll do something this eve. As on now they are on the kitchen counter with lids off. Should I use it all or a little, rinse or not,in the refugio or display? How about both? Where does one put Miracle mud? This will be a fun experiment regardless Just looking for some OP's