Sand Questions

[twilson]

This may sound weird but can anyone give me some advice on buying used sand? Of course I understand that the advantage is that it is live but is there any thing I should be worried about ? Also does anyone have any thoughts on mixing crushed coral with sand? I have some of both but I wasn't sure if I could mix the two. I don't mind the look of it. Actually kind of like it .

[Mike P]

I've never heard of anything bad happening if you mix sand and crushed coral. The only thing I can think of happening would be some sort of ground feeder that might get scratched up a bit from the crushed coral depending on what livestock you have.

Buying used sand:
Make sure it's rinsed VERY well. Don't skimp on rinsing it. I would rinse it quite a few times with normal tap water, and then again a couple of times with RO water.

As far as it being live it doesn't really matter. If this is a new build, having live sand could speed up the cycle, but that's about it.

[Gma]

I have both crushed coral and sand in my tanks and haven't had any problem with it. I agree with the rinsing unless you are VERY sure of the source. I'd be afraid it could have some bad hitchhikers in it.

[thegrun]

I'll take a different tack on both issues. I would not mix CC and sand or buy used sand. Crushed coral harbors excessive amounts of detritus with will raise your nitrate levels. If you mix it with sand it will eventually work its way to the surface of the sand bed, but even when it is covered it still will cause problems. If the price gap between buying new sand or using free crushed coral as a substrate is the difference between you being able to afford this hobby or not, I would respectfully say that this is not the hobby for you. Save money where you can, but crushed coral is not one of those places where it makes sense.
There is danger in using used sand if it does not come from a trusted source. Phosphates, nitrates and copper are all potential contaminates you could be introducing to your tank through used sand. If you are certain the tank the sand came from was never treated with copper and didn't have major issues with phosphates and nitrates then by all means use the sand provided you thoroughly wash it first, but if there is any doubt, purchase new dry sand.