live sand form "the living sea" at the florida gulfarium

[rich850]

I bought 20 lbs of sand from "the living sea" at the florida gulfarium --its a giant aquarium there-- anyhow the girl there said something about fish eggs being in the sand and getting some of them out now i brought it home and added it to my 75 gal tank and there are some small black eggs and some almost clear eggs i am not wanting to seem stupid but i am just going to come out and ask what do i do now? btw looks like some of them are deep in the sand and looks more like about 50 lbs of sand they sent someone down scuba diving and they scooped it out and put it in a big styrofoam ice chest with water a couple inches over it plz help

[shanesauce]

Wow someone else who lives in Milton? I went to go into the gulfariums little store the other day but they are closed. Are they better than waterworld or aquaria?

Lol I am in the process of starting up a 55g mixed reef...
But anyways I say get rid of it you never know what could come out of those eggs.

[rich850]

already added it to my display tank

[rich850]

???

[DC_40gallon]

Why did you buy this sand over just a bag of dry sand that you could have guaranteed was a virgin sand with no impurities or issues with it? Now with your tank if anything starts showing up, algae, cyano, parameters going everywhere, etc it could easily be from leaching out of the sand. Best advice from most, if not all people on RC, never use old or used sand! The worst reality is that the ocean is probably the worst quality of water to get things out of near our shores.

Your on the gulf side too, remember last year...the largest oil spill in the nation's history hit that area. I'd scrape the entire load, cut your losses now and buy dry saltwater tank ready sand from a pet store. $20-30 will set you up and you won't have to worry about a thing.

[KafudaFish]

I would also just leave all your belongings beind and leave your house or apartment now.

Think Amityville Horror.

How is this any different than going to any LFS and buying some live sand?

[Sk8r]

Nothing's likely to survive the pumps/circulation. Don't worry about it. If anything hatches and lives, consider trading it. But it's got the cycle to go through, and it'll need to be tougher than usual. Interesting source. I'd go for it.

[DC_40gallon]

Geez KafudaFish why don't you leave your unproductive comments to yourself??


Sk8r - maybe I'm not seeing this clearly - I'm game to watch the progress of the tank since someone like yourself with such experience thinks it will work. I'm definitely an open mind!

[Angel*Fish]

Sounds like cool sand to me, too There's not a way to keep algae out of your system and whatever is in those eggs will die if you don't have anything in there yet to eat them.

[chimmike]

adding that sand to your already established tank could cause another cycle. Be sure to monitor your parameters.

[rich850]

its from the Gulfarium...it just looked really cool had to get it looks almost like gravel ...the living sea is a 42000 gallon tank an exhibit at the Gulfarium --tank has been setup about 40 years.. in ft walton beach water from the gulf is pumped into it after being treated with ozone ... it seems like the water quality there is good enough to keep dolphins, lionfish, tangs , mandarins, copperband butterflyfish thrive in the aquarium some of these are animals that people on here say are so difficult to keep..my original question though i guess should have been what can i do to make sure the eggs hatch? chimmike and sk8r what do i do if it starts another cycle..water changes or is there anything i can do to prevent damage?

[KafudaFish]

Originally Posted by DC_40gallon

Geez KafudaFish why don't you leave your unproductive comments to yourself??


Sk8r - maybe I'm not seeing this clearly - I'm game to watch the progress of the tank since someone like yourself with such experience thinks it will work. I'm definitely an open mind!

How was I being unproductive?

You stated that the OP had made a huge mistake in buying sand from the place and that he or she should throw everything out because of it. You also stated that the water quality was terrible.

You believed that by buying sand in a bag it is somehow safer yet how does one know the "quality" of that sand?

You also stated that most if not all RC'ers would tell the OP to follow the same line of thinking that you have suggested. Yet there are 3 others that have posted in this thread, including a Mod, that did not and yet now even you comment that "you have an open mind".

Could there be an issue? Yes such as a new cycle but how is that any different than opening that bag of sand or going to the LFS down the street and buying some LS or some LR and putting it in.

The OP should check water parameters and deal with them if necessary.

This is an open forum on a private website. I followed all rules: ie I did not personally attack anyone, I did not swear, I did not bring in religion or politics and I did not try and post a link to something I am selling.

I am sorry that you cannot see humor for what it was, just that.

[greech]

I'm sure the sand will be fine. Obviously would help to know what layed the eggs if you want to keep whatever is in them alive but I would assume small foods like rotifers would be on the menu. Do you have a small container that you can keep a few in? Maybe keep the container in your sump until they hatch? Just a thought.

I googled the Gulfarium and it sure looks well kept and somewhere I would like visit. I live in Tallahassee so it's only a couple of hours. Do they have a store front for corals, etc, or do you shop from the frag tanks/tubs? Had no idea a place like that was this close to me. Thanks for posting the info.

[JTL]

My friends and I have used sand from the Gulf with no problems. There was no oil from

[rich850]

the aquafarm is right by "the living sea" exhibit but they sell corals and fish and also live rock covered in coralline for $3 lb its pretty cool