Is Beach Sand Safe To Use In A Brackish Tank?

[MadameFizzgig]

Hi everyone, I've posted here a few times and have yet another question. 

 
Currently, my violet goby that I rescued a few months ago is doing a billion times better than he was when I rescued him. He has been living on a gravel substrate, which I know is not ideal, so I'd like to switch it to sand. I live in Maine, and was wondering if it would be safe to collect some sand from a beach area to use as his new substrate.
 
Of course, I would clean and boil the sand before introducing it to his tank, and would measure the SG to be sure that it didn't rise too much. Also, the area where I would be taking the sand from is from a friend's privately owned stretch of beach (therefore not a crime).
 
So my questions are: would this be safe for him? Will the sand mess with my filters? I clean his tank by hand, so would this present a problem for cleaning? And lastly, is there a better alternative? I know that beach sand is relatively fine grained, and some people suggest larger grains. However, my violet goby is still very small (about 5 inches) and I'm wondering if it would be harder for him to filter out larger grains.
 
Thank so much!

 

[Munroco]

I haven't used beach sand, but I often used gravel from a local beach with no problems. I made sure I cleaned and boiled it properly first of course.

 

[Cdomick]

A lot of people use pool filter sand as well it has a similar texture to beach sand , a silicone base, and bheap I just picked up 100 lbs for around $15

 

[simonas]

any pics of your violet goby. I kept these years ago and great fish they are.
If I had the capacity for a spare tank I'd get these in a shot they look sp gruesome but are such lovely peaceful fish

 

[Fin & Feather]

I have used a little Beach sand with no ill results. I didn't think at the time of it being illegal. I am not sure if it is in our state. You can always ask the Parks Department and they may give you special dispensation. It seems trifle as compared to the tonage of natural elements developers remove. An entire backyard ecosystem was destroyed in our neighborhood by construction of a new development. This displaced deer, raccoons, mice, birds and insects.
You can get a bag of playsand at your hardware store for just a few dollars. works fine. I combine that with light colored San from the fish store. Then I make interesting sworls and patterns. (Sand art?) Your local fish store also sells bags of different colored sands fairly reseaonably. Some bags include a bag of bacteria starter. Inert beneficial bacteria waiting to be activated.

 

[Colin_T]

Beach sand is fine, you don't even need to clean or boil it unless there are birds pooping on it, then avoid that. I just grab sand out of the ocean and use that.

 

[Fin & Feather]

I 've used beach sand too added to my purchased sand. May not have to rinse lack Colin said, but I have freshwater setup, so I rinsed sand. But all is good.

 

[Fin & Feather]

If you don't have a hyrometer, they are usually reasonable and accurate to determine salinity levels.