Is Beach sand good for aquariums?

[andyroo]

Our big tank is beach-sand, a somewhat course coral/CCA-based material of rounded grains that I nicked from a client/friend's private beach (he said I could). It's heavy & well sorted so not much fines to mess with water clarity/parameters, and particles are pretty hard so, again, stable even with diggers.

My mid & smaller tanks have a sand of dead Halmeda marine algae fronds that accumulates where there's no waves... 100~odd feet down is where it's cleanest & still safe(ish) to haul. Having said that, don"t ask how and definitely don't do this.

HOWEVER, it's bright-white & looks like rolled-oats, imbricates in the flow & generally looks fantastic. It has also lasted far longer than I'd have expected, more than 15years including a house-move & re-allocations between tanks, plus plants, diggers, loaches, MTS etc that shouuld have powdered it by now. Much powder underneath, sure, so add small digging fauna (annelids? clams?) to keep it from getting funky. Our current house is on rain-cistern, so let's see how it manages a lower pH...

So, yes, I've used beach-sand near-exclusively for ~20yrs & can't think I've ever hand an issue.
Silica-based is heavier, so will stay-put better than limestone-based.

 

[andyroo]

... OP needs a better thesaurus

 

[Tristan's 6000 Fish]

Thank you for the information, I have a friend in Apollo Beach ( I believe)... Somewhere between Tampa and Sarasota, and he allowed me to fish and take sand from his property. I was going to take some from a beach in Tampa, but it was too fine, his was what I had in mind for my tank. I got enough for the 600g Saltwater tank and its all setup, but was unable to get the fish I had in mind. Caught stingrays, Bonnet-head sharks, lady fish, and a few good sized snook; but I wanted some yellow grunts or more colorful fish.I'm going to St. Simon's, Ga Thursday to catch some Pigfish for bait in my crab traps, so maybe I'll catch a good looking fish there.

Our big tank is beach-sand, a somewhat course coral/CCA-based material of rounded grains that I nicked from a client/friend's private beach (he said I could). It's heavy & well sorted so not much fines to mess with water clarity/parameters, and particles are pretty hard so, again, stable even with diggers.

My mid & smaller tanks have a sand of dead Halmeda marine algae fronds that accumulates where there's no waves... 100~odd feet down is where it's cleanest & still safe(ish) to haul. Having said that, don"t ask how and definitely don't do this.

HOWEVER, it's bright-white & looks like rolled-oats, imbricates in the flow & generally looks fantastic. It has also lasted far longer than I'd have expected, more than 15years including a house-move & re-allocations between tanks, plus plants, diggers, loaches, MTS etc that shouuld have powdered it by now. Much powder underneath, sure, so add small digging fauna (annelids? clams?) to keep it from getting funky. Our current house is on rain-cistern, so let's see how it manages a lower pH...

So, yes, I've used beach-sand near-exclusively for ~20yrs & can't think I've ever hand an issue.
Silica-based is heavier, so will stay-put better than limestone-based.

I agree. I was just trying to stay out of trouble.

... OP needs a better thesaurus

 

[Tristan's 6000 Fish]

@andyroo I was trying not to get in trouble also. Not sure about Florida laws. They are more laid back on the enforcement though... at least in regards to traffic regulations. Got pulled over twice in Brunswick, Ga for going 58 in a 55, but in Florida they were flying past me, even though I was going quite fast.

Could be great, i dont think it could be bad. One thing you should do is check local regulations about taking sand from beaches. You would be amazed at the penalties for taking sand from protected coastlines in some states. Some places they will literally imprison you.