Is florida gulf sand ok?

[jsmkmavity]

Given the recent shift from avoiding/exporting silicate from our reef tanks to purposely adding it i was wondering if the silica/quartz based sand from florida would now be considered safe for use in reef tanks? It it beautiful sand and has a unique texture.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Clean silica/quartz beach sand may release some silicate, but I'd never say it is unsafe or likely to be a long term chemical problem.

Companies such as TBS sell very high quality live sand from the gulf. I'd use it.

https://tbsaltwater.com/collections/ultra-live-sand

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Bear in mind that removing beach sand may not be legal.

 

[Reefering1]

 

[jsmkmavity]

I live 3000 miles from there so collecting it myself wouldnt be an option. I have been reefing for 25+ years and until recently all i ever heard was "silicates BAD" "aragonite good"! So the new philosophy got me thinking.

 

[jsmkmavity]

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

I live 3000 miles from there so collecting it myself wouldnt be an option. I have been reefing for 25+ years and until recently all i ever heard was "silicates BAD" "aragonite good"! So the new philosophy got me thinking.

lol

Guess you didn't read my paper from 2003 where I recommended dosing silicate and said the sand might be useful in that context:

In subsequent sections of this article I describe dosing recommendations for adding soluble silica. Is silica sand a good way to go from that perspective? I cannot really answer that. It probably provides some silica to reef tanks, but the amount is completely out of the control of the aquarist. For that reason alone, I believe that it would be a poor choice as the sole source of soluble silica for a reef tank. In a tank without any silica dosing, silica sand may, in fact, be more beneficial to the overall tank, at least from a silica delivery standpoint, than calcium carbonate sand. There are, of course, many other differences that might be the deciding factor on sand choice (color, texture, dissolution, particle size distribution, nutrient and metal binding properties of sands, etc). Many of these factors are more aesthetic than technical, and the technical ones are beyond the scope of this article.

 

[Reeferoni123]

I’m out of the loop - silicates are good now?

 

[redfishbluefish]

I believe it was MC Hammer...."U Can't Touch This"

Florida DEP says NO to anything off the beach, including sand.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

I’m out of the loop - silicates are good now?

In moderate amounts, yes. They are the enemy of dinos (hyperbole, but they help diatoms that can outcompete dinos) and they are needed by sponges.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

To be clear on sand, I'm wary of recommending silica play sand and against sand blasting grit that may not be as rounded and washed. Natural beach sand is softly rounded after eons of grinding around by waves and being washed free of soluble impurities. Ground rock materials are neither rounded nor washed free of soluble minerals. :)

 

[KrisReef]

Bear in mind that removing beach sand may not be legal.

More importantly, in areas where sand replenishment has been performed th sand on the beach may not be what you are after.

Lots of folks who sell live sand claim to collect offshore in deeper water but if I don’t collect it myself I always wonder if they bought it at Home Depot. :)

Replenishment sites are easy to identify if you are familiar with the beach you are on. But if not look for infauna worms and stuff among clean areas and away from stink piles of rotten smelling substrate and you should be fine.

 

[jsmkmavity]

"Guess you didn't read my paper from 2003 where I recommended dosing silicate and said the sand might be useful in that context:"

I missed that one, and many others. I have only been back on a reefing forum for about a year and it seems i have a lot of catching up to do. I enjoy learning, but i try to stay away from the constant changing methodology and most tech stuff. Years ago i was on REEFFRONTIERS and when that faded i looked at reefcentral but wasnt interested in their way of doing things. I havent been doing any research in between since i was stable and not looking for anything new. Kind of like sleepreefing!!!
I enjoy reading your articles and a few others!