sand musings

[Briarmoor]

While out on the river yesterday with friends, I was walking on a sandbar where we docked. The thought occured to me, wouldn't river sand be cool for an aqaurium! It would already have bacteria in it, etc.

Well, then I considered that it would probably have other things in it too that wouldn't necessarily be good for tropical fish. Who knows what junk is in there?

Very pretty though, had some glittered gold stuff in it, very fine, like fool's gold maybe. I don't know much about sand or the composition of it in TN.

I'd like to hear if others have used "non-store" sand and what your results, good and bad, were.

P.

 

[LoachLover]

You CAN probably use it if you wash it with boiling water A LOT and kill anything that could be in it.

 

[rdd1952]

The problem is, you don't know what kind of bacteria it has in it. I definitely wouldn't try it, especially when you can get play sand that looks identical for a couple dollars at Lowes and Home Depot. Also, the glittery stuff is probably mica flakes. Don't know of they would be good or bad for the fish.

 

[freddyk]

The bacteria in the wild is never good. Out there there's no reliance on bacteria the way it works in our tanks. I wouldn't hesitate to use it - first I'd boil it, then I'd dry it, then I'd sift it for foreign objects. You can often buy riversand from landscapers as well for very cheap.