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I live not too far from the beach up in the north east USA and walk my dogs on the beach a couple times a week. As I walk on the beaches I see different grades of sand and always think how good they would look in my tanks!
Is there any reason that I would not want to do this?
I would boil it in fresh water for a short time to kill anything alive in the sand before putting it in, but thoughts?
Anyone tried this before?
Thanks for any input.

Hi all,

characinkid wrote: 30 Apr 2023, 13:45 ......I see different grades of sand and always think how good they would look in my tanks!
Is there any reason that I would not want to do this?

The two main problems would be:

• The presence of shell fragments in the sand. It depends on which way the prevailing wind blows etc. but the W. facing beaches of the British Isles and Ireland are largely composed of "shell sand"

• The second problem would be the legal situation, and you would need an American to tell you what that is. In the UK the sand all belongs to some-one, often "the crown".

cheers Darrel

I would also be worried about contaminants. Do the people with homes by the beach spay chemicals on their lawns or plants which may drift onto the beach? Are there vehicles which patrol or manicure the sand? These spew fumes that settle in the sand. What about garbage or oil spills? And after storms which was away parts of the beach, from where does the replacement sand cone?

On the other hand, my favorite sand is Carib Sea's Torpedo Beach sand. I had a reason to talk to Carib Sea via phone a few years back about something else and I mentioned how much I liked their Torpedo Beach sand. I was told it was collected from a beach in Florida, which is where Carib Sea is headquartered (I believe). I have to think that this sand is safe or Carib Sea would be in trouble.

I cannot say if Carib Sea does anything to the sand they sell to insure it is basically safe to put into tanks. However, they have the in-house ability to do or to afford to have it tested, and, if needed, remediate he sand before they sell it. Ff you collect it from a beach, you have no idea what else is in or on it nor what you might need to do to make it safe.

I rinse my substrate well before using it. One thing I do know is if there are contaminants on substrate or other natural decor, soaking it in warm water often reveals there is something nasty present because you will see something form on the surface of the water. However, this is not fail safe. Further, it is not a good idea to boil wood as that helps to make it break down faster.

My only concern would be mineral and shell fragments leading to an increase in pH and\or hardness. If you are not worried about that I see no issues. I use sand and gravel from the creek behind my house as substrate.
Florida, California, and Hawaii have laws against taking sand from public beaches as they often truck it in. The Crown Formally gave up all US sand rights back on July 4, 1776.
-Shane

Hi all,

Shane wrote: 30 Apr 2023, 17:32 The Crown Formally gave up all US sand rights back on July 4, 1776.
-Shane

I'm not saying anything, but it would be fair to say that I most definitely won't be watching the TV on May 6th, when some event involving extremely rich and privileged people is occurring in London.

cheers Darrel

In the UK this opinion is not the common, but here, in NL, around 45 % share that opinion, I'm one of them.

Better still, here the owner of the land is entitled to all the sand he can withdraw from it - and while we cannot own bodies of water, we can own the shore