# Can I use real beach sand ?



## baitfish2000 (Mar 11, 2005)

Live in N.E. FL - rather than play sand I want to know if I can use beach sand ?? in this area its crushed shell and crushed coquina rock - gives it a reddish hue and you can see bits of shell in it - prefer its color to that of play sand. Want to put it into my shellie tank and a small tang community tank.

Its cheaper and I think it will act as a buffer - any ideas on this subject ?


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## bulldogg7 (Mar 3, 2003)

wash it good and don't get caught taking it, think it's illegal there to take sand from the beach
but...
the crushed coquina would go nicely with the shells


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## getwithit (Jan 13, 2008)

I'd be more concerned about the salt content than anything.it may be alotta work to get it usable but it sounds awesome.


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## beaker99 (Apr 15, 2007)

Living in Florida also, I say go for it. Of course you will have to rinse it well, but don't expect the rinse water to run clear when finished. The tank will be cloudy for a few days, but that will pass. 
Personally I always use pea gravel from the garden center. Usually cost 2$ and change a bag. 
Good luck.


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## baitfish2000 (Mar 11, 2005)

well since its going to be in a shellie tank I thought sand would be the way to go - I like pea gravel but did not think they could dig around in it and the multies I have LOVE to dig. Will try the sand - clean it really well - drop of bleach in there too and let it sit overnight - rinse well again and then put it into an Occie tank I am setting up.


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## beaker99 (Apr 15, 2007)

baitfish2000 said:


> well since its going to be in a shellie tank I thought sand would be the way to go - I like pea gravel but did not think they could dig around in it and the multies I have LOVE to dig. Will try the sand - clean it really well - drop of bleach in there too and let it sit overnight - rinse well again and then put it into an Occie tank I am setting up.


Make sure the chlorine disipates before putting the fish in. There is no sense ruching this and have all your fish dies.


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## JWerner2 (Jul 7, 2008)

Hmmm, the thought makes some cring but honestly I cant see it being much different than using play sand.

They dont keep that stuff in that great of a sterile environment before it gets bagged up.


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## demonsoni (Feb 10, 2006)

There is a sand operation near me, they pretty much take sandstone, crush it, and leave it in big piles outside until they bag it.


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## Malawidolphin (Dec 15, 2006)

I used sand from a mountain lake near where I live and It has a few small shells in it and some pea size pebbles. I have had no problems, it was easy to rinse and the sand naturallly separates from the pebbles with the water movement....just like at the lake.


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## jschall (Apr 2, 2009)

Why not just spend ~$24 on 100lbs of 20grit silica sand available at any hardware or pool store?


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## Timkat4867 (Jan 11, 2008)

Sure you can use beach sand. I use it in my tank. All I did was rinse it really well, and dumped it in. You dont have to worry about putting bleach in. I think that is unecessary work.



jschall said:


> Why not just spend ~$24 on 100lbs of 20grit silica sand available at any hardware or pool store?


 I think the OP said that he prefers the look of beach sand. In my opinion It looks far better than silica. All the little shells that are in the beach sand will look good in his/her setup I think.


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## Timkat4867 (Jan 11, 2008)

As regarding it being a buffer, my PH rose from 8.0 to about 8.4 in the first few weeks. But now its pretty stable again at 8


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## baitfish2000 (Mar 11, 2005)

I will post a pic as soon as I set it up - I love the look of it over play sand - this is really made up of ALOT of small shells and crushed shells - reddish hue plus the mix of all the shells in it - looks very natural ( because it is..) thanks for the input - have been washing it all weekend - going to set up the tank tonight and post a pic. Did not use the bleach - was scared of it being an issue for the fish.


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## Timkat4867 (Jan 11, 2008)

yeah the shells mixed in the sand do give it a good look. the reason why i didnt use bleach in the sand was i didnt want to go through the hassel of rinsing and rinsing to get it out.


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## jefferyo (Jan 13, 2009)

Posted: Sun Apr 19, 2009 7:40 pm Post subject: 
As regarding it being a buffer, my PH rose from 8.0 to about 8.4 in the first few weeks. But now its pretty stable again at 8

Baitfish 2000 mentioned that he was going to put the sand in a Tang tank, and I know the Tanganyikan like hi PH.


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