noddy Posted October 29, 2012 Share Posted October 29, 2012 Hi allHypothetically if you were to be given some beach sand directly from a beach, what would you do to ensure that all contaminants/bacteria are out of it? I was wondering if Boiling it would be sufficient?Thanks in advanceTrav Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CamoT Posted October 29, 2012 Share Posted October 29, 2012 Is beach sand a good substrate for a cichlid tank? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danielsplakat Posted October 29, 2012 Share Posted October 29, 2012 id just rinse it and then dump it in like what i do with other substrate hahaha Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
noddy Posted October 29, 2012 Author Share Posted October 29, 2012 CamoT,I figured it would be as good as any sand hopefully contains some calcium (shells etc) which will help with buffering as it is going to be a Tanganyikan tank. But I might do some tests and see how it comes up.Keep your thoughts coming. Not going to do it until the weekend.ThanksTrav Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yabbie Dabbie Do Posted October 29, 2012 Share Posted October 29, 2012 Make sure you boil it first as this will kill any harmful bacteria or disease that maybe living in it. I boil everything before I put it in my tank. Including rocks, sand, gravel and ornaments. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
krellious Posted October 29, 2012 Share Posted October 29, 2012 yep. Run under hot water then rinse as per normal sand. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CamoT Posted October 29, 2012 Share Posted October 29, 2012 I might give sand a crack in my next tank, I live on the beach so hypothetically speaking I should be able to borrow some. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yanke Posted October 29, 2012 Share Posted October 29, 2012 yes i clean it up and put it in the tankthen i put in some tester fish some frythat if they die u don't lose much and see how they go for about 1 weekif they live then u know it ok to put your good fish inyanke Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buccal Posted October 29, 2012 Share Posted October 29, 2012 Beach sand has no nasties in it, most things don't.But a problem you may find with beach sand is that a good percentage of it is very fine and light.Because of this, a lot of it ends up in your filter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dogboy Posted October 30, 2012 Share Posted October 30, 2012 Should be good with a rinse to wash it and get the salt out. I don't use fine sand in my tanks anymore. I found sometimes you can get anaerobic pockets in there especially under rocks. In these pockets you get foul smelling black stuff and the whole tank can crash. I use pool filter and coral sand for the larger particle size. This allows for water movement through the sand. Having said that plenty use beach and playpit sand. Also you may find taking sand off the beach may be illegal. But only if you get caught. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ged Posted October 30, 2012 Share Posted October 30, 2012 Rinse, rinse and rinse again and then you may have to rinse a few more times. There are plenty of cheap alternatives with out using beach sand. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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