Sand from the Beach? for a freshwater tank?

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I

ilovearowanas

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Jan 5, 2008
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Hawaii
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ive been wondering...:confused:
would it be possible to just take sand from the beach, rinse it thoroughly as you would with any substrate, and put it in a freshwater tank?
or would you have to put some kind of special cleaner to clean the sand, since it is freshly from the beach...

i am wondering because i want to get sand for my new tank, but i dont want to buy $10 per 10 pounds of sand, if i could just go to the beach and get it , and rinse it.

what do you think?
please advise me on this...
 
hmm, ive heard people using kitty litter for substrate.. cheap and great for plants. no ish. seriously. maybe someone else at the planted tank area can elaborate for ya. after all, this is salt and we primarily use aragonite for buffering capacity.

i would be very leary of using beach sand...condoms, medication, agriculture waste.... horror stories to say the least. may not be the cheapest way to go in the long run. but its your tank....
 
Never ever use kitty litter. (It will turn to mush and you'll have a mess) You could use beach sand. Boiling is an option. Of course if you let it completely dry in the sun that would kill all the microscopic life and rinsing it later would wash off any other contaminate.
 
Ullopincrate;3114457; said:
Never ever use kitty litter. You could use beach sand. Boiling is an option. Of course if you let it completely dry in the sun that would kill all the microscopic life and rinsing it later would wash off any other contaminate.
Click to expand...

so what do you think would be the best thing to do with it?
just rinse it thoroughly?
 
do you guys think it would make a difference, if the sand is from hawaii?
since im from hawaii, the sand is just broken down coral. and its already dried up in the sun when its on the shore.
so do you think it would be okay to just rinse it well?
 
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