Sand washing help

EvoReef · Mar 12, 2014

Hi,

I acquired 300 lbs of used sand from a guy I new that had a 300 gal tank. I want to use some of this sand to setup my new 125, what is the best way to get it clean and ready for the new tank? I also have a 75 gallon with some sand in it. All livestock from the 75 is going into the 125. Can I mix that live sand in with the new sand I am going to use?

EvoReef · Mar 12, 2014

11f150 · Mar 12, 2014

If it were me...I would buy new sand, I wouldn't put sand that was used in another system to fill my entire new setup.

EvoReef · Mar 12, 2014

Buying new sand is way out of my budget. I got this for a good price and the system this sand was in was pristine.

Daniel@R2R · Mar 12, 2014

I rinsed my sand with my RODI waste water several times (until the water was clear) and then spread out and let dry. It's a major pain, but worth it if you can't spare the cash for new sand. You can use your sand from your current setup to seed the new sand.

b_rad_G · Mar 12, 2014

Bleach to kill any living organic material and test for phosphate. It the phosphate shows up negative then you have new sand

EvoReef · Mar 12, 2014

The sand is totally dry.

revhtree · Mar 12, 2014

Bleach it as said above! I did that with a large amount of sand and it was just fine.

EvoReef · Mar 12, 2014

revhtree said:
Bleach it as said above! I did that with a large amount of sand and it was just fine.

Thanks

melev · Mar 12, 2014

No, do not do that. Just use a garden hose and wash it. Rinsing used sand for the new setup - Blogs - Reef Addicts

myclang · Mar 12, 2014

using RODI is a big overkill. If you look at what live sand is packaged in, you'd notice it's nothing near RO DI. any contaminants in normal tap water will evaporate if you let it sit out on a tarp to dry. just rinse multiple times with a hose.

Eienna · Mar 12, 2014

myclang said:
using RODI is a big overkill. If you look at what live sand is packaged in, you'd notice it's nothing near RO DI. any contaminants in normal tap water will evaporate if you let it sit out on a tarp to dry. just rinse multiple times with a hose.

Untrue. Many contaminants do NOT evaporate. They dry out, but the substance is still there.

That said, if you remove as much water as possible after rinsing, they should not be present in sufficient levels to harm your animals.

ReefMadScientist · Mar 12, 2014

If it were me I would use RODI water then wait until the water clears. Then I would gravel vac the sand until there is no dirt or contaminates in there.

EvoReef · Mar 12, 2014

You can't go wrong with doing a little extra work just to be for sure that the sand will be as clean as you could possibly get it.

myclang · Mar 12, 2014

The problem with RO DI is its EXPENSIVE to make (and wastes a ton of water) and 300 lbs isn't a tiny bit of sand. Besides a bit of TDS which would be flushed out pretty much imediately with the first couple water changes after the cycle, there's not gonna be anything to risk by simply using tap water, a hose, and a tarp. tap water and RO DI are going to make it just as clean, if not cleaner than buying all new sand in a bag.

Also you're mixing in "live sand" from your already established tank... not gonna be clean to begin with, or after all that hard work washing the new stuff lol.

If heavy metals or even chloromines (rare) are present, you could even use a tapwater nuetralizer for that first fill. no need to run the skimmer anyways when cooking rock.

81Shaun · Mar 12, 2014

just out of curiosity but what ratio bleach would be needed?

hllywd · Mar 12, 2014

mdbannister said:
I rinsed my sand with my RODI waste water several times (until the water was clear) and then spread out and let dry. It's a major pain, but worth it if you can't spare the cash for new sand. You can use your sand from your current setup to seed the new sand.

mdbannister didn't suggest using RO/DI water, but the waste water from it's production. I don't see why that wouldn't work, however I normally just use the garden hose in a 5 gallon pail until the water runs clear. I've never worried about drying it afterwards either.