Live Sand??
- Thread starter kgalliher
- Start date
Can't answer the first, but the second: depends. in some locations, collection is allowed, in others, it requires a collection permit. However, you don't want the sand from above the low tide area, since this will include aerobic organisms that won't tolerate full-time immersion. Also, collection is best done at areas away from the shore, in deeper water, to reduce the toxins and pollutants that concentrate in shallow waters.
Some LFS sell sand harvested from their own tanks. The pre-packaged stuff, I'm cynical that will contain much life--most organisms need access to food and oxygen, unlikely to survive for long in a bag that isn't well cared for (ie, kept cool and in the dark).
Some LFS sell sand harvested from their own tanks. The pre-packaged stuff, I'm cynical that will contain much life--most organisms need access to food and oxygen, unlikely to survive for long in a bag that isn't well cared for (ie, kept cool and in the dark).
I understand what you mean about collecting in shallow water with pollution and such. I live minutes from the Atlantic Coast in FL....it kills me to pay someone for "live" sand.
If you were going to do this, how would you go about it?
I thought about getting what I need in a lage bin (or 2) and running a powerhead in there for a week or so, stirring up the sand ocassionally an seeing what outcome there is as far as testing goes. Any other suggestions?
If you were going to do this, how would you go about it?
I thought about getting what I need in a lage bin (or 2) and running a powerhead in there for a week or so, stirring up the sand ocassionally an seeing what outcome there is as far as testing goes. Any other suggestions?
I'm cheap. I'd buy a bag of sand from Home Depot, and then get an activator kit. Why is this the cheap way? Because you can't test for all the potential pollutants that might be in the tank, and getting an activator kit from TBS will be much cheaper than losing $$$ in fish, corals and inverts if there is something nasty in the sand. You'll also want to check--I know Florida has strict regulations regarding live rock harvesting, no clue if that applies to sand or not.
http://www.ipsf.com/index.html
Introducing live rock will introduce detrivores. I think some of them will not live in quartz sand, or it’s hard to.
Introducing live rock will introduce detrivores. I think some of them will not live in quartz sand, or it’s hard to.