Sand Dollars.... also equipment question

[Mako]

I can collect live sand dollars locally. Anyone ever use them as a substrate burrower? I will be setting up a 55g soon with native live sand and native fish/inverts. Obviously I won't add any critters until it's cycled sufficiently.


ALSO, this setup is a leftover from my "aquatic plants phase". I have a lot of equipment, and I just wanted to pick your brains to see what you would/wouldn't use or do.

I plan on having nearly NO coral unless I get extraordinarily lucky and find one, but I may have a few native anemones (non-photosynthetic I think), small crabs (spider crabs and hermit crabs), and misc fish I catch.

55g with oak stand and canopy
4 48" T8 electronic ballast setup
Aquaclear 300
HOT Magnum

CO2 system ---- 20lb can (yes the big one) full, complete with manual regulator, bubble counter, CO2 resistant tubing, AND a CO2 reactor. **I don't think I'll be using this system since I won't need a calcium reactor nor do I want to dump $$$ for an electronic pH controller and magnetic solenoid***

 

[Pisces]

My sister has a boat and thought it would be neat to collect a few small sand dollars for me to put in my 55g tank. I reluctantly put them in and they quickly disappeared into the sand. I rarely ever seen them again until they began to die, one by one. They may have survived about 2 months, if that long. I suspect they starved because they didn't have enough of whatever it is they eat and my tank was well-established at the time.
JMO, but I would suggest leaving the little guys where they're at in the wild.

 

[Boogiechillin]

Sand dollars eat sand infauna...LOTS of sand infauna. I've never known anyone to keep the alive in captivity for long - best left in the ocean IMO.

If this is an all native setup, you're going to be collecting temperate organisms. You probably won't need the heater; if anything, you might eventually want to look into a low-end chiller. If you have enough rock and sand in the tank for biological filtration, you might just want to hook up the HOT and Aquaclear without media for water motion. Your lighting should be perfectly adequate for anything that sneaks into the tank. Finally, you definitely DON'T want to use the CO2 system as this will depress your pH quite a bit...not good in a marine system.

 

[Mako]

thanks!

So noted. I'll leave the sand dollars in the surf. Although they are a delight to find on the beach once they "pass on"- here in SC I've found as many as 10 in a one-hour search.

Anyhooo, I figured the CO2 would goof the pH and there won't be any need for it since I won't be raising a jungle- our marine habitats only have marshgrass as an abundant plant and that's NOT something I care to grow in a 55 (maybe a 5500g!).

Anyhow, I don't think the chiller would be worth the cost since our natives (at least the ones I will collect) are quite capable of handling 90+ water for sustained periods of time (given a light stocking load of course). I think the cheapest I remember ever seeing (that I would trust) was well over $200.

Thanks for the help. Hopefully once it's cycled and stocked I can get some pics up.