Rinsing Sand

Forsaken77 · Jul 12, 2017

I bought about 270 pounds of Arag-Alive Fiji Pink for my 180 build a few months ago. They come with water in the bag for the bacteria. By the time I get to set it up, it'll most likely be expired.

I probably should've gotten the dry version because I was planning to rinse it anyway. The Hawaiian Black I have in my cube had so much silt that I want to rinse out.

My question is... If I rinse it in 5 gallon buckets with a pressure hose, can I just dump the excess water out and put the wet sand in the tank to air dry? Will it hold the phosphate and nitrate from the hose water if it's air dried? Because rinsing 270 pounds is a lot of work in itself. I really don't want to have to soak it in saltwater, then move it to the tank. Or would a healthy dose of Seachem Prime solve this while the tank is cycling?

I just don't want to start off with my rock and sand sucking up phosphate and nitrate on a massive level that I'll never be able to get under control.

Anybody have experience with rinsing large amounts of sand?

Mr. Bill · Jul 12, 2017

You didn't say how long it will be before you get your tank set up, but here are my thoughts.

Live sand is bagged with food, so it has a decent shelf life. Storing it in a cool, dark area will keep the bacteria mostly dormant.

If you're convinced you want to rinse your sand, The easiest method by far is try to return (or sell) the live sand and buy dry.

Worst case scenario- if you end up rinsing the live sand, you'll need to soak it in bleach. Simply rinsing with freshwater will only kill the bacteria, but it will still be lodged in the pores and your tank will be a GHA/Cyano nightmare for years to come.

Lastly, I wouldn't recommend placing that much sand in your tank to dry. The water will most likely stagnate and pollute the sand with bad bacteria, again causing long-term problems. It would be best to place it where it can get fresh air, and if possible, sunlight.

Forsaken77 · Jul 12, 2017

Mr. Bill said:
You didn't say how long it will be before you get your tank set up, but here are my thoughts.

Live sand is bagged with food, so it has a decent shelf life. Storing it in a cool, dark area will keep the bacteria mostly dormant.

If you're convinced you want to rinse your sand, The easiest method by far is try to return (or sell) the live sand and buy dry.

Worst case scenario- if you end up rinsing the live sand, you'll need to soak it in bleach. Simply rinsing with freshwater will only kill the bacteria, but it will still be lodged in the pores and your tank will be a GHA/Cyano nightmare for years to come.

Lastly, I wouldn't recommend placing that much sand in your tank to dry. The water will most likely stagnate and pollute the sand with bad bacteria, again causing long-term problems. It would be best to place it where it can get fresh air, and if possible, sunlight.

Do you happen to know if the bags of water filled sand are 20 pounds with the water, or 20 pounds of sand plus the water? I emailed CaribSea and they never responded.

I've already had the sand for about 8 months. I got it in 40 pound boxes straight from the distributor and they've never been opened. Same thing with the CaribSea Life Rock, 180 pounds.

The tank is actually going right in front of a window (with the blinds closed when it's up and running), but the window isn't anywhere near as long as the tank is. I mean I could open the window and blow a pedestal fan in the tank to dry it, but would that do anything? I'd still have crap in the sand itself, right? Even if it's dried quickly.

My tank should be up and running in the next 2 months. The problem was that my family member has an account with a major distributor and he and I were getting tanks at the same time. He got the Innovative Marine 120 AIO and I got the Marineland Dual Corner-Flow 180. I wasn't there when he picked up the tanks and stands and he was more interested in his tank and never inspected mine (it was defective). So Marineland warranted the tank and reimbursed me, but I still have this 400 pound defective tank and have to buy another. That's my biggest hurdle right now. Getting rid of this tank and having a new one delivered. Because between the 2 of us, we couldn't lift it. Lucky thing my neighbor was home and delivers appliances and had a giant hand truck with a ratchet strap.