Difference between live sand & sea sand?

[jcvdd]

Hello-
This is my first post and as you can possibly guess from my
question, I am new to salt water aquariums-
Can anyone explain what is the primary difference between
commercial purchased live sand and sand from the ocean.
I live in Miami and just minutes from the coast. I was wondering
if I could just dive to one of the local reefs and bring home some
sand from a healthy reef and fill my 55 gallon tank?
Thanks! Joe

 

[bdubbya]

Anything close to the coast makes the risk of contamination very high. There's no telling what the sand might have in it.
Good luck

 

[crcoachm]

think of the coast as the protein skimmer cup. you don't want that.
If you go out far enough you would be much better, ?1 mile?