Using beach sand in my SA/CA tank.....

[robmcd]

Ive been wanting to use sand as substrate in one of my tanks. So I went to a few of my go to shops to price the stuff and it aint all that cheap. The tank that I want to use it in is a 60g that I am relocating from my house to my girlfriends place ( I practically live there anyway ) which happens to be about 50 yards from the beach and alot of free sand. Ive been thinkin about how I would sterilize and desalinize it and this is the process I would use hypothetically........
1) sift the sand thoroughly with a flower sifter into a bucket to remove any trash or debris
2) sterilize it by boiling it
3) rinse it by putting it back into the bucket and slowly running fresh water through it for an hour or so.
Do you folks think this process would work out for me? Am I crazy for just considering doing this? If you have any input on this please let me know. Im no expert but to me it makes sense. Thanks in advance for all replies.

 

[jaws19]

ive been want to try this as well

 

[jombi21]

50lbs of sand around here is only like $3.00. I just Quikrete medium from Home Depot. Are we talking about different kind of sand ? The process sounds good but might be a lot of work. Good luck.

Jom

 

[ShadowStryder]

Rob, don't know what you feel about the white pool filter sand, but it is really nice looking. You can get it around here @ 50 lbs for 9.99. You don't have to wash it or anything, just put it in.

 

[robmcd]

50lbs of sand around here is only like $3.00. I just Quikrete medium from Home Depot. Are we talking about different kind of sand ? The process sounds good but might be a lot of work. Good luck.

Jom

Thanks jom but im lookin for sand with a really fine consistency. The commercial stuff is also really dirty and would require lots of work also to clean up. Do use this stuff now with no ill effects?

 

[robmcd]

Rob, don't know what you feel about the white pool filter sand, but it is really nice looking. You can get it around here @ 50 lbs for 9.99. You don't have to wash it or anything, just put it in.

Thanks for the suggestion Don, I might have to resort to using pool sand. I would just prefer a more natural look to my tanks. Dont get me wrong, the white stuff looks great and all, but you know how I roll, I just like that natural look. No plants in this one either, can you believe it!!

 

[ShadowStryder]

Thats cool. I am not a big fan of sand anyway. I keep it in a 55 that I use as a growout tank. I like how it tends to brighten the fish but not a big fan of how it destroys the HOB filters and all the waste floating on top. Very unsightly.
Can't beleive it, no plants. I gave up on them. I might try them again with my new trio of Marms when I move them to a 125, Gonna go with a large group of Geos, Hopefully they won't destroy them.
Glad to see you back. Hope everything is going well for ya.

 

[robmcd]

Thats cool. I am not a big fan of sand anyway. I keep it in a 55 that I use as a growout tank. I like how it tends to brighten the fish but not a big fan of how it destroys the HOB filters and all the waste floating on top. Very unsightly.
Can't beleive it, no plants. I gave up on them. I might try them again with my new trio of Marms when I move them to a 125, Gonna go with a large group of Geos, Hopefully they won't destroy them.
Glad to see you back. Hope everything is going well for ya.

Thanks again Don, things are goin great for me. Its great to be back. I had no internet for a few. That 150g with the marms and geos sounds really cool. Im startin to get way into geos when I never really was before. Good luck withthe 3 marms....

 

[jombi21]

I used play sand and medium Quik, the play was just to change it up. I've had no problems whatsoever. I would never leave sand. Even first cleaning doesn't take long at all. Takes maybe a few days to settle but never had a long problem at all. I clean a little at a time, rinsing it until the water is pretty clear. I understand your consistency interest tho. Play is pretty darn fine imo. Good luck buddy, I sure whatever you go with will be great.

Jom

 

[japes]

Depending on what sand you're getting, a lot of it's going to be crushed up sea shells. I could be wrong but I believe this will up your pH, though I can't say I've ever tried it.

Personally I'd try to 'acquire' some sand from a fresh water river system.