Get sand from your favourite local beach. Its already washed, has a good colony of bacteria and is available at a good price.
where can i get good sand cheap?
- Thread starter pacu
- Start date
Is this for FW or SW?
For FW check a landscaping place.
For SW if this is for fish silica sand is okay. If it's for inverts YOU DON'T WANT SILICA SAND.
It would also depend on the quantity you need. If you don't need much you might be better buying the one you've seen that you already know you like. Sand is a one time purchase. You'd like the tank better if you've selected the substrate you like best.
For FW check a landscaping place.
For SW if this is for fish silica sand is okay. If it's for inverts YOU DON'T WANT SILICA SAND.
It would also depend on the quantity you need. If you don't need much you might be better buying the one you've seen that you already know you like. Sand is a one time purchase. You'd like the tank better if you've selected the substrate you like best.
Potts050;510904; said:
The only correct statement is about the price ...
When I harvested sand from sand banks I always washed it ... never know if maybe a motor boat leaked some oil or gasoline. Furthermore, anything harvested in the wild needs to be either completely dried out or otherwise disinfected - I do not want to bring any parasites or diseases into my tank. That, in turn, also kills beneficial bacteria. If you mean beach as in ocean: I would also want to wash it and rinse it thoroughly. Too many oil spills everywhere. Although washing does not remove these pollutants, handling the sand excessively makes you inspect it more thoroughly. If it is polluted, it has to be discarded.
Bottom line: I strongly discourage everyone to follow the above advice without additional steps. The only occasion I can see where it applies (i.e. sand straight into your tank) is a native tank with self-caught fish from that body of water.
HarleyK
HarleyK;512024; said:
LOL
Never encountered any oil spills or gasoline from motor boats in beach sand. I do agree that you should take the same precautions you would with sand from any other source. As a rule though, if you can swim there then it wont likely be a problem for your fish tank.
the home depots here sell a target brand play sand. nice and fine. 7$ or so per 50lbs approximately. rinses great. the stuff is used for childrens sandboxes, has to be safe.
Potts050;526229; said:
Come on down. We Got it ALL... Oil, Fuel, Pollution runoff, Red Tide (we feed it here but no one will admit it & they say they can't find out why it's so bad), Dead fish. Don't forget about all the salt accumulation and shell particles that disolve & screw up the pH.
And once you dig down a few inches you start to hit anaerobic bacteria and its gasses, (mmm sweet).
The sand works wonders as a filter at the beach to remove all the garbage we put there and now we want to bring it into our aquariums...interesting.
This may sound sarcastic but I have to live with it.
Even the freshwater stuff is a lot of trouble & has to be quarantined.Dr Joe
.
Well so much for planning a vacation in Florida.
I've used beach sand from the great lakes and the south shore of Nova Sotia with no problems at all. Just a rinse on the ocean beach sand. Beach sands are a good mix of angular and platy materials, insoluble (on Canadian beaches), and usually an interesting colour mix. i read somewhere that there are as many as a million bacteria in a cubic centimeter of wet storm beach sand. Instant biofilter.
I've used beach sand from the great lakes and the south shore of Nova Sotia with no problems at all. Just a rinse on the ocean beach sand. Beach sands are a good mix of angular and platy materials, insoluble (on Canadian beaches), and usually an interesting colour mix. i read somewhere that there are as many as a million bacteria in a cubic centimeter of wet storm beach sand. Instant biofilter.
Potts050;527424; said:
Sounds like you got a marketing thing going there... ship it here and we can call it imported.
Dr Joe
.
