SeaSand

RiaanP

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I'm going down to Balito area. And I do have 2 plastic drums with tight closing lids of 90 liters each. I'm thinking of collecting both drums full sea sand with enough water to cover the sand inside. Will be done either the morning before we drove back or the previous evening. Then all the way back to Pretoria. Should be enough for a 1.5m by 600mm tank.
The substrate I have now is crushed coral stuff, very ruff and coarse. I want to take all of this out and replace it with the new, hopefully still fresh sea sand.
Now my questions.
Do I have to cycle the tank again, I will not replace the water? (maybe 20 to 40L)
What about the current livestock I have in there?
How much die-off can I expect, or should it be OK?
Must I seed this sand? Put some of the old substrate in stockings and let it lie halve buried at the bottom. SO that the micro stuff can migrate, and I can get the ruff stuff out easily.
I do not think I have to wash the new sand, as that will remove any life that is still around.
Anybody else done this? Is it a worthwhile exorcize?
 
dont need to seed it. but the die off depends on how long it sits. if you get it the morning you go back or as late before you go back it would be the best. it shouldnt cycle again unless there is die off in the sand but it shouldnt be too much if the journey isnt too long. abd your fish should be alright. Grab some sea water while you are at it in a different container and do a water chage when you get back as this will help a lot and your corals will love it. Dont wash the sand just check it for bits of rubbish and metal. you never know. I did this for my DSB and i'm going to do it again for the new tank. i think its worthwhile IMO
 
Anybody else from Pretoria or Johannesburg who did this?
 
I have seeded my beds with live sand from the ocean, but have not shipped large quantities, die off is just too hectic
 
Die off is certainly significant considering the surface area of the sand and the fact that its the skimmer cup of the ocean. Id cycle it in a seperate tank for those reasons. Also, considering the flow in a marine reef tank, wont all the sand b blown around?
 
If the die-off is that hectic, then I can not use it to replace all my substrate in one go. And leave the Fish, live rock, Urchin, cleaner shrimps, snails and few softies I have in the tank.
Else If I have to cycle it separately, Can be done, I got a 90L and 60L old fishtanks that I can set up like a DSB.
Comments --- come on, hit me
 
RiaanP do you know how heavy 90L/kg of wet sand is!! make sure you can get it to your transport? ask me i nearly daid when i loaded my sand i ended up driving onto the Beach to pick the container up.
 
Hi Riaan - YES - you will have some die off..... And yes - you WILL have a mini cycle going on... BUT - this is indeed an AWESOME idea. You will get some AWESOME AWESOME micro critters/life in that sand....

IF - (as Ben said) you can get the 90 litre containers into your car/bakkie/4x4/suv.....

Good luck with this - let us know what you decided/did!

Cheers mate!
 
Some more info - the BIGGEST die-off you will get, is from bacteria that dies. SOME other micro-critters, like copepods/amphi-pods might also die - but these little critters are far stronger than we think. They can survive many circumstances.... The bigger inverts, like worms, should definitely survive.
 
The drums are round, will test if I can roll them (but I know this will not work). They are HEAVY. Did a tank move with them with water and LR in them.
But my idea was to leave them on my trailer, and let my 2 sons run up and down with smaller buckets (they are 7 and 10). Maybe have some icecream ready to pull in other kids. Nothing like some child labour.
Nobody is replying from Gautengeleng?
 
Really, is there nobody from Gauteng who done this?
 
RiaanP i collect mine from below the Lowe water line in a 50L cooler box with some sea water at sodwana i then went home witch took 4hrs so the sand was in the container for 8 hrs. Used it for my DSB and 2 days later i so still some Worms and gritters in the sand.So they are survivors.
 
No Marine, the kids will use their sand buckets, the stuff you buy at the surf shop, with shovel and rake. OK, they will do a lot of trips. :whistling:. Just Joking.

But has nobody else in Gauteng done this? (Except Ben)
Only Cape Town and Durbanites?
 
But has nobody else in Gauteng done this? (Except Ben)
Only Cape Town and Durbanites?

So much easier just buying aragonite or playsand and seeding it, than driving all the way to Durban for a 100kg of sand
 
So much easier just buying aragonite or playsand and seeding it, than driving all the way to Durban for a 100kg of sand
I agree, I drove to the beach once to collect sand, 3 big coolerboxes full, I couldn't walk for a week after that.
 
I'm thinking of collecting both drums full sea sand with enough water to cover the sand inside.

Don't fill the drums with water - in fact, just keep the sand damp, and NOT submerged. If the sand is submerged, the aerobic bacteria will quickly use up the oxygen in the surrounding water, and will then die - most other small critters will also suffocate. If the sand is only damo, there is a much larger amount of oxygen available from the air surrounding the sand particles, and the critters will have a much better chance of surviving, as long as they remain damp.

Hennie
 
If I use playsand, to replace the substrate in an existing running tank, must I not cycle the tank first? Also I will loose all the nice stuff in the substrate.
I got 2 drums, so in the region of 200kg.
 
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