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06/26/2014, 09:41 PM
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#1 |
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Registered Member
Join Date: Jun 2014
Location: Long island
Posts: 5
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Live Sand
Hey All,
New to this forum and saltwater tanks. Can one use sand from the beach in a tank or refugium? Thanks |
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06/26/2014, 10:43 PM
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#2 |
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Registered Member
Join Date: Mar 2007
Location: Long Island, NY
Posts: 976
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Not a good idea. Too many pollutants are possible. Get yourself a couple bags of aragonite. I highly recommend caribsea seaflor special grade sand. Don't waste your money on "live sand" all sand will become live eventually.
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110g rimless, Elite Aquatics sump, JNS ConeS Co2, ATI Sunpower, Vortech, Digital Aquatics RKE |
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06/27/2014, 04:31 AM
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#3 | |
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Registered Member
 
Join Date: Apr 2008
Location: Grove City, Ohio
Posts: 10,806
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Quote:
And a big +1 to starting with dry rather than supposedly "live" sand. If you want to give it a kick start, get a cup or two of sand from a friend or your LFS to seed the dry sand. Ditto with the expense of all live rock. I have found it much easier to set up my tanks using mostly (99%) dry rocks. As you add corals you will be adding all that makes the rocks "live"
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I'll try to be nice if you try to be smarter! I can't help that I grow older, but you can't make me grow up! Current Tank Info: 120 mixed reef with 40b sump, RO 150 skimmer, AI Sol Blue x 2, and a 60g Frag Tank with 100g rubbermaid sump. 2 x Kessil A360w lights, BM curve 5 skimmer |
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06/27/2014, 04:55 AM
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#4 |
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Registered Member
Join Date: May 2013
Posts: 7,408
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Welcome.
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Brandon I'm not saying let's get rid of all the stupid people.* I'm just saying let's remove all the warning labels and let the problem work itself out. Current Tank Info: 150g DT plumbed to an 80g frag tank and 220g sump in the basement. ~6-MP40s ~ 12 ATI powered t5s ~ Reefbrites and Radions supplementing ~ Custom GEO Skimmer ~ GEO CA Reactor 6x24~ Iwaki 70 Return ~ |
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06/27/2014, 07:16 AM
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#5 |
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Registered Member
Join Date: Apr 2002
Location: miami,florida
Posts: 640
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 Hi, yes you can use sand from the beach, it all depends on where you collect it and how far off the beach you collect it. If you live in or collect in a remote area you should be fine with using beach sand. I would also walk out into the ocean as far as possible to collect it. All the sand I use in my systems is collected from the ocean.
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Natural Reefer Current Tank Info: 600 gallon Carribean Reef System, ETSS Protein Skimmer, 1.5HP Tradewinds Chiller, Reef Breeders Photon V2+ LED Lighting For The Refugium, Mitra LX7206 LED Lights For Display Tank |
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06/27/2014, 07:30 AM
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#6 |
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Registered Member
Join Date: Feb 2014
Location: Keys
Posts: 1,392
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[QUOTE=billdogg;22885492]what he said. In addition to the pollution issue, it may very well be illegal to remove sand from the beaches in your area.
[QUOTE] +1 |
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06/27/2014, 07:31 AM
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#7 | |
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Registered Member
Join Date: Feb 2014
Location: Keys
Posts: 1,392
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Quote:
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06/27/2014, 09:56 AM
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#8 |
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Registered Member
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You also want to consider silicate versus calcium sand. I know that many respected people see silicate as fine, others do not. I live by a clean tropical ocean, and finally decided on seeding my argonite sand with some sand from past the spring low tide mark on a remote beach.
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320 gallon tank, lots of locally collected stock. Yes, I have the permits. Took ten years off, happy to be back! Current Tank Info: 320g custom tank with 80g sump. Using local natural sea water. |
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06/27/2014, 10:50 AM
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#9 |
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Registered Member
Join Date: Jun 2014
Location: Long island
Posts: 5
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Thanks all for the advice. I'll be going with dry sand.
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06/27/2014, 11:23 AM
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#10 |
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Registered Member
Join Date: Feb 2014
Location: Keys
Posts: 1,392
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Or buy live sand. Its cheap. $25
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| beach sand, live sand |
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