Beach sand

[parsons483]

I have a 10gallon that Has nothing in it at the moment, I went to a local beach (saltwater) and got a bucket of sand its very fine sand. I know there is some level of salt in the sand, I am looking for advice on how to best get the salt and possible pathogens out of the sand? The tank is fresh water. And also I was considering putting plants in it later on (probably not anytime soon) can I do that if there is no soil under the sand?

 

[Funken_A]

More than just sand and salt all kinds of tiny bugs and bacteria from decaying critters etc...

 

[parsons483]

More than just sand and salt all kinds of tiny bugs and bacteria from decaying critters etc...

Well aware of that, just didn’t feel the need to go into more detail. Just looking for ways to make it cleaner

 

[Funken_A]

Well strain it through some fine mesh rinse it out then bake it in the oven at a low temp for a few hours to kill off whatever is lurking would be my suggestion

 

[JackBinimbul]

If it were me, I'd give it a first really good rinse and strain, then I'd soak it for a few days, changing the water and stirring every day. At the end, I'd boil it for about 10 mins. Then another rinse.

This gives anything still living in it a chance to hatch, grow, whatever after the first rinse, then you'll kill everything with heat. Some icky things can survive high or low temps, but giving it time to soak with water changes and then boiling should help.

 

[parsons483]

If it were me, I'd give it a first really good rinse and strain, then I'd soak it for a few days, changing the water and stirring every day. At the end, I'd boil it for about 10 mins. Then another rinse.

This gives anything still living in it a chance to hatch, grow, whatever after the first rinse, then you'll kill everything with heat. Some icky things can survive high or low temps, but giving it time to soak with water changes and then boiling should help.

Thank you for the suggestion I’m going to give that a shot

 

[Fresh2o]

I would imagine there are shell fragments in there (ground down to sand grain size). Unless you are trying to keep the pH low, it should not be a problem.
You can put plants in sand without soil underneath. You should provide some type of root fertilizer supplements in that case.

 

[parsons483]

I would imagine there are shell fragments in there (ground down to sand grain size). Unless you are trying to keep the pH low, it should not be a problem.
You can put plants in sand without soil underneath. You should provide some type of root fertilizer supplements in that case.

What can I use got root fertilizer?

 

[JackBinimbul]

There are things called "root tabs" or root tablets that you push into the substrate next to the plant you're wanting to fertilize. Some plants benefit more from root tabs and others benefit from liquid fertilizer in the water.

 

[goku]

Best way to kill bacteria and other tiny organisms is to bake the sand. The plants will die with sand alone. You will need to add liquid fertilizers and root tabs which contain clay. Also, removing the salt will be a nightmare. If you are looking to spend as little as possible you could get some river sand used for construction purpose. Bake it. You won't need to add fertilizers to the river sand in case of low demanding plants because it has all the nutrients required.

 

[parsons483]

Best way to kill bacteria and other tiny organisms is to bake the sand. The plants will die with sand alone. You will need to add liquid fertilizers and root tabs which contain clay. Also, removing the salt will be a nightmare. If you are looking to spend as little as possible you could get some river sand used for construction purpose. Bake it. You won't need to add fertilizers to the river sand in case of low demanding plants because it has all the nutrients required.

I rinsed then soaked the sand for a few days boiled it soaked it boiled it again then rinsed it
And I got the beach sand because it was all I had access to at the time I don’t have the money to throw down on sand when I can go get it for free. But I’m looking into the fertilizers now . There probably won’t be any fish in it anytime soon lol just wanted to have it sat up and ready for when I do get more fish

 

[evil Nick]

I think what you did is more than fine. Anything alive in the marine sand would more than likely die in a freshwater bucket soak, no?
I dont think the salt in that sand would have been enough to even register on the scale of most hydrometers. Plus with no fish for a while and cycling youll be doing enough WCs to get it out.
Did you pull this from the dry shore or in the water?
In the northeast up here Id be more afraid of toxic chemicals and medical waste getting into my tanks