120 gallon setup wild sand/rocks?

knowles101 · 11/01/2009, 08:08 PM

Ok so Im getting my 120 gallon SW setup together. Im in Halifax Nova-Scotia and I was wondering if I could use sand from the beach and rocks from the local reef for my tank?

redfishsc · 11/01/2009, 08:54 PM

You "could" but it would not be the same by any stretch. I don't know if Nova Scotia has that much calcareous coral growth. I know that rock from the Carolina coast here in the US is basically useless (and buttley looking). The rocks will most likely be just a bunch of bivalve shells and granite. Not nice porous, light calcium carbonate like true live rock (or even mined dry reef rock like Marco).

As for sand, I wouldn't either. Just way too much risk of bringing in pests.

Personally, all my new reef setups will get dry rock (like Marco, or the dry rock from bulk reef supply) and dry sand. I'll just seed them with a couple small live rock pieces. Less chance of getting pest algae and aiptasias. After the cycle is done, and the corraline algae takes over, it's just as good as true "live rock", but a whole lot cheaper, and a whole lot less headache with pest algae/hitchikers being introduced.

11/01/2009, 08:08 PM	#1
knowles101 Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2008 Posts: 15	120 gallon setup wild sand/rocks? Ok so Im getting my 120 gallon SW setup together. Im in Halifax Nova-Scotia and I was wondering if I could use sand from the beach and rocks from the local reef for my tank?

11/01/2009, 08:54 PM	#2
redfishsc Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Wake Forest, NC Posts: 3,696	You "could" but it would not be the same by any stretch. I don't know if Nova Scotia has that much calcareous coral growth. I know that rock from the Carolina coast here in the US is basically useless (and buttley looking). The rocks will most likely be just a bunch of bivalve shells and granite. Not nice porous, light calcium carbonate like true live rock (or even mined dry reef rock like Marco). As for sand, I wouldn't either. Just way too much risk of bringing in pests. Personally, all my new reef setups will get dry rock (like Marco, or the dry rock from bulk reef supply) and dry sand. I'll just seed them with a couple small live rock pieces. Less chance of getting pest algae and aiptasias. After the cycle is done, and the corraline algae takes over, it's just as good as true "live rock", but a whole lot cheaper, and a whole lot less headache with pest algae/hitchikers being introduced. __________________ "The measure of a life is not its duration but its donation." Corrie Ten Boom “The tyrant dies and his rule is over, the martyr dies and his rule begins” -- Søren Kierkegaard Current Tank Info: ghetto grad school reef.....11g rimless tank, 36X9X9, lit by Cree and Rebels scobbled together. Stocked mostly with free stuff I got from panhandling my fellow reefers.