Dennis Posted August 8, 2003 Share Posted August 8, 2003 I live in east Central Florida (Cocoa Beach area) and I'm looking to start a Nano-Reef tank. I have a 10-gallon tank (former freshwater aquarium) that I plan to use. My question is, since I live right on the Atlantic Coast, can I just go to the beach, dig up some sand, take a couple buckets of water, etc., and just set up a tank with that (rather than buying)? Or I am I just taking on too much for an absolute beginner? I would imagine that if I set it up a tank with such "ocean-fresh" ingredients there would be a lot of parasites and other undesirable "guests." But couldn't I just wait (for a couple of weeks?) for those to show up and remove them before I add any live rock, fish, or invertibrates? Link to comment
Crakeur Posted August 8, 2003 Share Posted August 8, 2003 there will be all kinds of stuff that you do and don't want in the sand and the water. I would not take water from the beach but rather, from a deeper area of water as the beach tends to get the foam factor which can't be good. Also, be careful, it might not be legal to walk off with sand from the beach. I'm unsure if they would bother to fine you for taking a small amount but you never know. Link to comment
caja Posted August 8, 2003 Share Posted August 8, 2003 I agree. I know people have done this, but you run the risk of collecting polluted sand and waterwhen you collect close to shore. Link to comment
dickie52 Posted August 8, 2003 Share Posted August 8, 2003 I would say go for the sand, but the water is just too heavy. Try and pick a place where the sand is cleaner and give it a good wash before you leave the beach. Bring a fine net or something like that. Also let it stand and skim any crap off the top. I have used wild collected sand many times from FL. No one is going to give you hard time, if you don't make a big deal and scene out of it. But stay away from live rock, they will bust you on that!!! Dickie Link to comment
Crakeur Posted August 8, 2003 Share Posted August 8, 2003 if you give it a good wash, you will likely remove animals and bacteria that you would want to keep. either take the sand and pick out the debris (shells etc) or don't take it but washing it will dilute the life. Link to comment
Dennis Posted August 9, 2003 Author Share Posted August 9, 2003 So, I should be able to gather live sand and seawater legally? I can't see why not. I have researched a little and it seems any harvesting of coral in Florida state waters is illegal. :pirate: I figure I can gather the live sand and seawater, set up the tank with just that in it and run it for a while (a week?), to make sure there aren't any nasty thingies in there. Then I should be safe to add some live rock. A friend with a reef aquarium is willing to "donate" a few pieces. Are you starting to get the feeling I'm cheap? :-* Next I'd add a "cleaning crew." Does anyone know if "collecting" snails, shrimp, etc., in Florida is restricted? : Link to comment
1979camaro Posted August 9, 2003 Share Posted August 9, 2003 dont know, but i would imagine noones gonna hastle you over a couple hermit crabs as long as you dont make a big todoo about it...just be inconspicuous...go in the middle of the night, dress in black, use night vision goggles...carry a silenced pistol just in case Link to comment
Dennis Posted August 10, 2003 Author Share Posted August 10, 2003 No problem, I have access to all that stuff at work! BTW, I'm in the Air Force, Combat Search and Rescue, so we have all the cool toys! Link to comment
dickie52 Posted August 10, 2003 Share Posted August 10, 2003 Here is a great page for you to read, it will tell you just what you can and can't take. Sounds to me that you can just about take everything!!! http://marinefisheries.org/recreational/re...charvestmls.htm Dickie Link to comment
Dennis Posted August 11, 2003 Author Share Posted August 11, 2003 Thanks, Dickie! That's a very good link! :woot: It's a summary of the Florida regulation, so I followed the links to the Florida Administrative Code for the details. Looks like "live sand" is OK, but "live rock" is forbidden, unless you're a licensed "aquaculturalist" of live rock. But a surprising variety and amount of fish, invertibrates and corals are permissible. You need a state salt water recreational fishing license though... Link to comment
littlereefer Posted August 11, 2003 Share Posted August 11, 2003 To tell you the truth I've taken fish from 1. the keys 2. boynton beach florida. No problems, I do have a salt water fishing license. Nephew catches them sometimes when he goes for bait. As for the sand never could find a place I thought was clean enough to go get :*( . All of those fish have turned out to be real SOB's though. Had to put a lot of them back. Make sure you get the right crabs/snails too. They can also be very dangerous like lefty the snail killing crab. Tony Link to comment
Dennis Posted August 12, 2003 Author Share Posted August 12, 2003 Tony, Were the "real SOB" fish naturally agressive species? Did you have any unusual disease problems, etc? Any special techniques to catching/transporting? What kind of crab was "Lefty, the snail-killing crab?" Link to comment
littlereefer Posted August 12, 2003 Share Posted August 12, 2003 Actually I was just trying to say that you should quarantine the animals. I didn't do that before, I was a newbie :|. That's why I'm interested to see how it works out for you. I might do the same. . For the record I know have 2 tank raised false perc clowns and 2 tank raised pajama cardinals. Before I took them home I saw them eating and behaving themselves. OK on to the question: I had a few damsels at the time and they started taking a beating. Sadly I do not know the name of all of the fish. None of these wild fish were kept at the same time. One was a seargent major (aggressive but small until he grew up!). I know one was a scooter blenny, he was the biggest at 3 inches. The only reason why I kept them truly was because of my nephew he likes the pretty little fish. For crab he started out as a blue legged crab with only one front claw so he was called lefty. He increased in size dramatically and started terminating his tank mates. I still have some of that type of crab in the tank and they are not hostile at all. Tony Link to comment
littlereefer Posted August 12, 2003 Share Posted August 12, 2003 oops didn't answer all of the questions. Transportation consisted of an air pump and a bucket filled with the water that the animal was found in and a quick temperature check. Hot water makes fish soup. For the slow moving animals a hand net works fine as long as you are patient enough to sneak up on the fish (scooter blennie). For the fast movers a bait catching rig (sebiki ~not sure spelling) the smallest kind, looks like a school of small fish works but will catch a lot of fish you don't want. You can find it at any bait shop/walmart. Tony Link to comment
Dennis Posted August 13, 2003 Author Share Posted August 13, 2003 Thanks for the info, Tony!:woot: I guess I'm getting a little ahead of myself with this. I'm still working on getting my tank set up! I'm doing this whole thing "on the cheap," (that's why I'm looking to stock with wild fish, etc.) so right now I'm working on a tank hood. I was wondering about just where to get "live sand." Can I get it from pretty much anywhere (near a beach) or do I have to get it from around a coral reef? I suppose I'll end up buying the "live rock" for the tank, since harvesting any in Florida is illegal. X) Some types of (soft) coral however, are legal to harvest, so some advice on hardy, easy to maintain types would be useful too. As far as the "cleaning crew" I suppose I'll go with a shrimp and a couple of snails. I've read some accounts of overly aggressive crabs, as well as crabs not cleaning. So, I'll stick with the easiest to manage (for now). I hope to have a clown (maybe two) and a royal gramma eventually, or would that be too much in a ten-gallon tank? Link to comment
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