Rinsing sand

[Bos]

Just a question on rinsing sand with tap water, I know it can be done and 99.9% of people use tap water only but doesn't that defeat the purpose of having pure rodi water for sw making, no chlorine and chloramine in water.
Even cleaning and maintaining reef equipments, most suggest use tank water for coarse sponges, or if vinegar & water OR tap water is involved, dry it completed or rinse with rodi but it seems for sand, its ok to put tap water into your tank.

Do people finish off with a rinse in RO water (instead of rodi to be more economical) and add Prime to remove the chlorine?

 

[PDR]

I have always rinsed with tap water then drained thoroughly. I never experienced any issues using the tap water. I did usually add some prime after filling the tank with ro/di just in case.

 

[User1]

As was suggested above you can always use Prime after you rinse. It won't hurt. I've never been one to rinse sand but if you are going to do it then tap water is probably ok and cheaper.

 

[cromag27 Verified Sponsor]

Just a question on rinsing sand with tap water, I know it can be done and 99.9% of people use tap water only but doesn't that defeat the purpose of having pure rodi water for sw making, no chlorine and chloramine in water.
Even cleaning and maintaining reef equipments, most suggest use tank water for coarse sponges, or if vinegar & water OR tap water is involved, dry it completed or rinse with rodi but it seems for sand, its ok to put tap water into your tank.

Do people finish off with a rinse in RO water (instead of rodi to be more economical) and add Prime to remove the chlorine?

the residual tap water left after draining will not effect your saltwater. it’s such a minuscule amount really.

 

[Snookin]

Nothing in my tank or any equipment has ever touched tap water on RODI. Most will tell you tap is ok for cleaning and rinsing but why take any risk of introducing something harmful from tap water.

 

[ca1ore]

Depending upon what sand you use, it may require a significant amount of washing. I use the caribsea special grade and unwashed you’ll end up with a tank full of milk, and clouds of dust will be released every time you disturb the sand. Not good. If you want to use hundreds of gallons of RODI washing sand, knock yourself out. Seems singularly pointless though. I use the garden hose until the sand runs clean, then I usually do a final rinse with RODI ..... though not always. The amount of water impurities in damp sand is really negligible.

 

[WVNed]

I put it in a 5 gallon bucket and use the garden hose.

 

[Redleg]

+1 for the garden hose rinse.

 

[mtraylor]

When I rinsed sand from a tank move I did the same. Put some in a 5gal bucket and rinse and repeat till it was clear. Decant water from the top of it and place in aquarium. Didn't use any prime or anything. No issues. You will be ok.

 

[saltyhog]

Depending upon what sand you use, it may require a significant amount of washing. I use the caribsea special grade and unwashed you’ll end up with a tank full of milk, and clouds of dust will be released every time you disturb the sand. Not good. If you want to use hundreds of gallons of RODI washing sand, knock yourself out. Seems singularly pointless though. I use the garden hose until the sand runs clean, then I usually do a final rinse with RODI ..... though not always. The amount of water impurities in damp sand is really negligible.

This is exactly the sand and procedure I use. If it would make you feel any better you could also spread the sand out on some plastic and let it dry for a few days. All of the chlorine would be eliminated.