Frozen Shipment Ocean direct oolite sand
 

Hey quick question,

I just order a bag of ocean direct oolite sand online. It was shipped via Canada post. Since, the temperature here in Calgary has been in the -30s my bag of sand arrived frozen solid.

I was just wondering if this would cause an issue with the "live" aspect of the sand. Should I get a new bag or do you think it's still good?

This sand is going in to a brand new tank.:question:



Thanks,
Martin

I wouldn't consider it live any more; you can still use it and seed it, just make sure you cycle it.

yes frozen solid means anything alive pre freeze likely is not alive anymore....

oolitic sand is very fine (small grained) and I would think it would blow around significantly in a reef tank. That sand gets everywhere I was cleaning it out of my GoPro camera after a geological field trip studying modern carbonates in Caicos.

This only really matters if you truly believe that it was live before it shipped.
Which, I do not

I was going to post this, but backed out :) But ya, what he said :)

+1 - the only qualification I'd add to that would be depending on what it is that you mean by 'live'. If you're just talking about bacteria, then there was probably a few different strains encapsulated heterotrophs in there, many of which might have survived the freeze as some of those guys could survive a trip through space on an asteroid.

Actual critters from the kingdom animalia, however, are generally not likely to survive being sealed in an air-tight bag which is then subject to wild fluctuations in temperature, tossed around, crushed, flown all over the world, then stored on a shelf for days to months after leaving the ocean. You might have had a few eggs survive, but is that worth the exorbitant cost considering you'd get more critters from the muck at the bottom of a friend's sump... that's the real question.

After freezing, any animals or eggs that may have been in there are absolutely mush. Unless it's oolitic sand from the high arctic, where aquatic animals often have anti-freeze in their blood. I assure you however, it was not.