[Anthony Calfo]

its odd... for how strict US laws are on collecting live rock, they are amazingly lax on sand. I have not read or recall anything recently on the rate of accretion for live rock on a given reef versus production of coral sand, but I have to wonder if the basis for regulating stone is not similar to sand?

Just a couple months ago I was giving a lecture in FL with a Fish and Wildlife chap and in his lecture (on FL regs) he said (with some dismay) that there is no regulation on sand collection in FL. That struck me as odd (and I'm still not sure that was even true... I meant to scour their website or call some other F&W folks to see if thats true).

Nonetheless... legal issues aside, wherever you (legally) collect your sand from [check your state/gov regs], its a bit of a catch 22 to ready it for aquarium use. If you preserve max biodiversity, then you are more likely to bring in a pest or predator.

Still... that is my preference (max biodiversity) in most cases, so I recommend a strict quaratine of collected sand in a tank with modest lightign and vigorous (albeit diffused) water flow. After 4 weeks you will at least be assured that most diseases will die or wane without a host (8 week QT is even better).

As for pests and predators (worms, crabs, nuisance algae)... you simply have to be diligent as with any QT period and eyeball search each day for the term.

I actually use my fluorescence gear (~$125 for flashlight and goggles from Mazel's Nightsea.com) to scan for algae species and coral polyps too small to catch with the unassisted eye. The gear also shows off (metallic copper) many worms and crustaceans hiding as well for you to evaluate if they are friend or foe.

with kind regards, Anth-