Real Reef Sand

ReefSparky · 11/19/2007, 08:39 PM

Living in Florida and being a SCUBA diver gives me the ability to take a 5g. bucket, diving down to a bristling, actively live reef, and filling it with sand, and taking this home.

From what I've read, it's legal. I wouldn't be hurting any critters in the process.

For creation of a DSB in my 55 gal tank, is this any better or worse than bagged sand, seeded with a cup or two of sand from a LFS or fellow aquarist?

Currenty, I have a healthy tank with a couple of inches of CC, which I'm dying to get rid of. I'm going to go sand, I'm just curious if the opportunities afforded me here in sunny FL are too good to pass up.

BangkokMatt · 11/19/2007, 08:54 PM

I wouldn't use real reef sand as you don't know what is in it. You could let all types of parasites etc into you system. The sea can cope with them but your system won't be able to.

steven_dean17 · 11/19/2007, 09:27 PM

There have been several people start with fresh sea water, and continue to use it for water changes only to have terriable results. You never know exactly what your getting out of the ocean. I personnaly would leave the ocean in the ocean and only buy captive grown everything. If you decide to do it anyway, I hope you get some really cool hitchhikers.

jiperalta · 11/19/2007, 09:28 PM

did it on for my 20 gal from swimming distance off Lighthouse Point with no problems. also collected bleached coral pieces for base rock from the shoreline with no problems....

meco65 · 11/19/2007, 10:53 PM

IMO if I could I would.

ReefSparky · 11/19/2007, 11:20 PM

Thanks for the replies. So we've got a no, a maybe, and two yesses. Hopefully a thousand people will give me two cents. (that would be twenty bucks!)

BermyBoi · 11/20/2007, 12:09 AM

done it for a total system of 240 gallons... (75g refuge... 50g sump.... 120g disp.. no problems at all.... had that system running for 2 years, eventually broke it down due to a move in housing. I guess it depends on the location and source however... but with my experience.. and about 4 other people i know locally who have done the same... no problems

spllouder · 11/20/2007, 02:35 PM

What if you did this ? You collected the sand and let it bake in the sun for 2-3 weeks dry . then rinse it real good . basically kill evertything and make it dead sand . I bet its beatiful reef sand . i used to live in fort lauderdale florida.

and seed it with a cup of live sand from a local reefer or buy some on ebay .

Thats what i would do instead of buying baged dry sand

Zestay · 11/20/2007, 02:53 PM

just remember ... ft lauderdale by the sea is freaking filthy... find a cleaner reef. one off shore perfered.

ReefSparky · 11/20/2007, 03:45 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Zestay
just remember ... ft lauderdale by the sea is freaking filthy... find a cleaner reef. one off shore perfered.

Yes, this would be the first reef, out maybe 100 yards or so, water depth around 19 feet. This is where I planned on getting it from.

papagimp · 11/20/2007, 03:53 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by spllouder
What if you did this ? You collected the sand and let it bake in the sun for 2-3 weeks dry . then rinse it real good . basically kill evertything and make it dead sand . I bet its beatiful reef sand . i used to live in fort lauderdale florida.

and seed it with a cup of live sand from a local reefer or buy some on ebay .

Thats what i would do instead of buying baged dry sand

If this were the case, I'd save myself the hassle and just get some pavestone from Lowes, costed me around $20 to put a nice 4-5" DSB in my 75 and plenty left over for several more tank projects. It seeded just as nicely as anything I could have purchased or collected myself. But it would be kinda cool to collect my own sand just for the heck of saying i did it once.

ReefSparky · 11/21/2007, 07:02 PM

Quote:

If this were the case, I'd save myself the hassle and just get some pavestone from Lowes, costed me around $20 to put a nice 4-5" DSB in my 75 and plenty left over for several more tank projects. It seeded just as nicely as anything I could have purchased or collected myself. But it would be kinda cool to collect my own sand just for the heck of saying i did it once.

I only know of pavestone or "pavers" as being this.

Is this what you're referring to?

tinmanny · 11/21/2007, 07:44 PM

if you get the sand put it in a seperate tank quarentine it for a period and at the same time be getting it ready for your tank ie. salinity and PH and all other peramiters to adjust to in quarentene
Good Luck
Manny
I have about 200 lbs of beach sand in my quarentene tank and it is cycling

ReefSparky · 11/21/2007, 09:09 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by tinmanny
if you get the sand put it in a seperate tank quarentine it for a period and at the same time be getting it ready for your tank ie. salinity and PH and all other peramiters to adjust to in quarentene
Good Luck
Manny
I have about 200 lbs of beach sand in my quarentene tank and it is cycling

Thanks for the info, Manny. Isn't it funny how 200lbs of sand is only about 2.5, 5gal buckets?

Anyway, at the advice of a poster in another forum, I collected a cup of this sand (from just where the waves break), took it home, and I have a tsp. of it sitting in vinegar. If it's arogonite-based, it'll all be gone in about 48 hours I'm told.

Aragonite IS the stuff we want to use to make DSBs right? If it's the right stuff, I'll swim out to the first reef and collect enough for 4-5".

I'll keep everyone posted.

joesfiddy · 11/21/2007, 10:04 PM

florida waters are so clean

2t2_crash · 11/21/2007, 10:54 PM

im using sand, rock, water, cleaning crew and if catchable: fish from the reefs here.. just not coral due to it being illegal.

zma21 · 11/21/2007, 11:10 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by joesfiddy
florida waters are so clean

Good luck in the upcoming football state playoffs!

I'm from lewistown.

plaereef · 11/22/2007, 12:29 AM

Heck yeah, do it. I know I would.

Diver4life · 11/22/2007, 12:06 PM

Hello reefsparky, I collected the sand from around a coral reef about 15 miles fron the main island, Im a scuba diver too , with the sand came a lot of copepods and snails (nassarius kind)I think its the better you can do.Just make sure not to get it to close from shore.

Agu · 11/22/2007, 12:21 PM

I've thrown all kinds of stuff from the gulf in my tanks. Various seeweeds, rubble from the beach, coquinas to feed my mantis, assorted snails and crabs, and even bait shrimp to feed the mantis.The only time I don't/won't add something is if red tide is in the area.

The sand is probably silica based. OK to use but it's probably not worth the effort to haul back heavy buckets of wet sand. Useing a few cups to seed your sandbed is an OK idea. I know a few people around here who have done that.

fishquaria · 11/22/2007, 01:11 PM

My sand bed is natural from the sea... no problems.. in fact it's very good.

ReefSparky · 11/22/2007, 02:02 PM

Quote:

The sand is probably silica based. OK to use but it's probably not worth the effort to haul back heavy buckets of wet sand. Useing a few cups to seed your sandbed is an OK idea. I know a few people around here who have done that. [/B]

Hi there. Thanks for the response. In fact, of the sand I collected last night, I've had a level tsp. in vinegar, which I changed twice, and as of now, there's less than an 1/8 of a tsp left. I suspect by tonight, there will be no sand.

It looks like there's zero silica-based sand off the beaches in Hollywood, Florida!

I'm happy about this. In a few days, I'm going to collect about a 5 gal bucket worth, and that will be my DSB material.

When I collected the sample last night, I cut the top off a 20oz plastic soda bottle, and used this to scoop my sand from about 15 feet out from shore, where the waves were subsiding. In checking the sea water for pH and alkalinity, I noticed hundreds of tiny cork-screw like organisms in the test vial. These must be copepods, I'm guessing.

Hundreds in 5 ml. If I bring back 4" of sand for the bottom of my 55gal tank, will I be introducing too many critters? Or will this be a good thing?

pointx · 11/22/2007, 06:47 PM

Hello there, I have had amazing luck using collected live sand and sea water with no ill effects, not to mention most of my livestock.

I have had good luck using a 3' section of 6" pvc with a hole drilled at the top and a long enough rope to pull it up to my boat.
Its almost acts like a dredge with little effort to collect a lot of sand at once.

As far as Hollywood area goes, I think thats known as the stink hole? its the place that all treaded waste goes offshore. sometime you can see the methane gas cloud hovering over the waters edge.

Hope this helps and go for it!!!!

Regards.

ReefSparky · 11/22/2007, 06:58 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by pointx
Hello there, I have had amazing luck using collected live sand and sea water with no ill effects, not to mention most of my livestock.

I have had good luck using a 3' section of 6" pvc with a hole drilled at the top and a long enough rope to pull it up to my boat.
Its almost acts like a dredge with little effort to collect a lot of sand at once.

As far as Hollywood area goes, I think thats known as the stink hole? its the place that all treaded waste goes offshore. sometime you can see the methane gas cloud hovering over the waters edge.

Hope this helps and go for it!!!!

Regards.

I've searched on google for this, and found nothing. I really hope your information is inaccurate.

pointx · 11/22/2007, 07:17 PM

Sorry did not want to bum you out!!! I have fished there many of times. Just ask any local charter boat capt around and they will tell you the same thing. Why not just go a little south maybe aventura. The excat location of the hole is 2 miles of shore in a direct line from Sheraton Blv.

regards.

11/19/2007, 08:39 PM	#1
ReefSparky Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: South Florida Posts: 146	Real Reef Sand Living in Florida and being a SCUBA diver gives me the ability to take a 5g. bucket, diving down to a bristling, actively live reef, and filling it with sand, and taking this home. From what I've read, it's legal. I wouldn't be hurting any critters in the process. For creation of a DSB in my 55 gal tank, is this any better or worse than bagged sand, seeded with a cup or two of sand from a LFS or fellow aquarist? Currenty, I have a healthy tank with a couple of inches of CC, which I'm dying to get rid of. I'm going to go sand, I'm just curious if the opportunities afforded me here in sunny FL are too good to pass up. __________________ 90G. PhosReactor carbon and PhosBan, XP-2000 Skimmer, RO/DI, 20 long sump, Coralife Aqualight Pro 2x150 modded to 2x250 w/ 2x96W PCs. Ecotech Vortech MP40, Koralia 3 and two 4's. JBJ Arctica 1/3 HP chiller. Last edited by ReefSparky; 11/19/2007 at 08:47 PM.

11/19/2007, 08:54 PM	#2
BangkokMatt Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Krung Thep Posts: 3,100	I wouldn't use real reef sand as you don't know what is in it. You could let all types of parasites etc into you system. The sea can cope with them but your system won't be able to. __________________ I've spent a lot of money on booze, women and fish. The rest I just squandered. Current Tank Info: 150g sps Reef (now FOWLR after a devastating crash due to chiller) , 2x400w MH (Icecap ballast, Lumenmax 2, Reeflux 12k SE), Deltec AP701, Grotech Tec III, Chiller, 2 x Tunze 6101, 1 x 6205 (+ m/c), bla bla

11/19/2007, 09:27 PM	#3
steven_dean17 Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: scott depot wv. Posts: 601	There have been several people start with fresh sea water, and continue to use it for water changes only to have terriable results. You never know exactly what your getting out of the ocean. I personnaly would leave the ocean in the ocean and only buy captive grown everything. If you decide to do it anyway, I hope you get some really cool hitchhikers. __________________ The Dali Llama is my "Ommmmmboy" Current Tank Info: 75gal. reef

11/19/2007, 11:20 PM	#6
ReefSparky Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: South Florida Posts: 146	Thanks for the replies. So we've got a no, a maybe, and two yesses. Hopefully a thousand people will give me two cents. (that would be twenty bucks!) __________________ 90G. PhosReactor carbon and PhosBan, XP-2000 Skimmer, RO/DI, 20 long sump, Coralife Aqualight Pro 2x150 modded to 2x250 w/ 2x96W PCs. Ecotech Vortech MP40, Koralia 3 and two 4's. JBJ Arctica 1/3 HP chiller.

11/20/2007, 02:35 PM	#8
spllouder Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Springfield , MO Posts: 55	What if you did this ? You collected the sand and let it bake in the sun for 2-3 weeks dry . then rinse it real good . basically kill evertything and make it dead sand . I bet its beatiful reef sand . i used to live in fort lauderdale florida. and seed it with a cup of live sand from a local reefer or buy some on ebay . Thats what i would do instead of buying baged dry sand __________________ 29G Reef 10G Sump/Refugiuem Current Tank Info: 29G Reef First Tank

11/19/2007, 09:28 PM	#4
jiperalta Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: coolidge, ga Posts: 165	did it on for my 20 gal from swimming distance off Lighthouse Point with no problems. also collected bleached coral pieces for base rock from the shoreline with no problems....

11/19/2007, 10:53 PM	#5
meco65 Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Arkansas Posts: 1,603	IMO if I could I would.

11/20/2007, 12:09 AM	#7
BermyBoi Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Bermuda Posts: 88	done it for a total system of 240 gallons... (75g refuge... 50g sump.... 120g disp.. no problems at all.... had that system running for 2 years, eventually broke it down due to a move in housing. I guess it depends on the location and source however... but with my experience.. and about 4 other people i know locally who have done the same... no problems

11/20/2007, 02:53 PM	#9
Zestay Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: gainesville, FL Posts: 1,622	just remember ... ft lauderdale by the sea is freaking filthy... find a cleaner reef. one off shore perfered.

11/21/2007, 07:44 PM	#13
tinmanny Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Rhode Island Posts: 235	if you get the sand put it in a seperate tank quarentine it for a period and at the same time be getting it ready for your tank ie. salinity and PH and all other peramiters to adjust to in quarentene Good Luck Manny I have about 200 lbs of beach sand in my quarentene tank and it is cycling __________________ Manny Current Tank Info: 90 40 30

11/21/2007, 10:04 PM	#15
joesfiddy Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Morris IL Posts: 518	florida waters are so clean __________________ 250 dd, 180 reef tank 100 gal sump, 75 reef tank 30 gallon sump, 40 gal frag tank, 12 gal nano Current Tank Info: 100 gal long reef, 75 gal reef, 40 gal frag tank

11/21/2007, 10:54 PM	#16
2t2_crash Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Okinawa Japan! Posts: 317	im using sand, rock, water, cleaning crew and if catchable: fish from the reefs here.. just not coral due to it being illegal. __________________ A man's country is not a certain area of land, of mountains, rivers, and woods, but it is a principle; and patriotism is loyalty to that principle. ~George William Curtis Current Tank Info: 55 gal reef, 30 gal sump, 2 koralias (3 and 4), oddyssea light system, NSW used.

11/22/2007, 12:29 AM	#18
plaereef Registered Member. Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Stockton, CA Posts: 141	Heck yeah, do it. I know I would.

11/22/2007, 12:06 PM	#19
Diver4life Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Pembroke Pines FL Posts: 482	Hello reefsparky, I collected the sand from around a coral reef about 15 miles fron the main island, Im a scuba diver too , with the sand came a lot of copepods and snails (nassarius kind)I think its the better you can do.Just make sure not to get it to close from shore. __________________ We are the minority but we are a proud specie! (Scuba Divers 4 life). Current Tank Info: 90 gal, 110 lb LR, 90 lb LS, 29 gal sump/fuge, ASM G1 skimmer, Mag 9 return pump, solar xtreme 48'' T5, Koralias 1400, Reefkeeper Lite Plus.

11/22/2007, 12:21 PM	#20
Agu Registered Member Join Date: Oct 1999 Location: Sarasota, Florida Posts: 30,279	I've thrown all kinds of stuff from the gulf in my tanks. Various seeweeds, rubble from the beach, coquinas to feed my mantis, assorted snails and crabs, and even bait shrimp to feed the mantis.The only time I don't/won't add something is if red tide is in the area. The sand is probably silica based. OK to use but it's probably not worth the effort to haul back heavy buckets of wet sand. Useing a few cups to seed your sandbed is an OK idea. I know a few people around here who have done that. __________________ Less technology , more biology . Current Tank Info: 30 gallon half cube and 5.5, both reef tanks

11/22/2007, 01:11 PM	#21
fishquaria Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Sri Lanka Posts: 170	My sand bed is natural from the sea... no problems.. in fact it's very good.

11/22/2007, 06:47 PM	#23
pointx Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Florida Keys Posts: 90	Hello there, I have had amazing luck using collected live sand and sea water with no ill effects, not to mention most of my livestock. I have had good luck using a 3' section of 6" pvc with a hole drilled at the top and a long enough rope to pull it up to my boat. Its almost acts like a dredge with little effort to collect a lot of sand at once. As far as Hollywood area goes, I think thats known as the stink hole? its the place that all treaded waste goes offshore. sometime you can see the methane gas cloud hovering over the waters edge. Hope this helps and go for it!!!! Regards.

11/22/2007, 07:17 PM	#25
pointx Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Florida Keys Posts: 90	Sorry did not want to bum you out!!! I have fished there many of times. Just ask any local charter boat capt around and they will tell you the same thing. Why not just go a little south maybe aventura. The excat location of the hole is 2 miles of shore in a direct line from Sheraton Blv. regards.