Should I recycle my sand

sbrotty · Oct 12, 2018

OffTopic said:
Welcome to R2R, I think Crabs said it well, I would at least rinse the sand pretty well before reuse!

Thanks

sbrotty · Oct 12, 2018

mrpizzaface said:
New sand

I leaning towards that

sbrotty · Oct 12, 2018

fredk said:
Not sure why you would have to dry the sand. I would stir and smell.

If you don't get that H2S rotten egg smell, a quick rinse will do. If it stinks after stirring, I would rinse well and then use.

Thanks sounds good. If it smells I’m going with new.

sbrotty · Oct 12, 2018

Retro Reefer said:
Welcome to the forum! Another vote for just replacing it.. all things considered the cost of a few bags aragonite is relatively low.

Yup yup I agree. Thanks

sbrotty · Oct 12, 2018

Rakie said:
Rinse and dry out is fine. New sand is fine. No sand is fine. It all works as long as you dedicate the time necessary for each option.

EDIT: Sorry, I know that's not helpful exactly.. But it's the truth behind all options and opinions in this hobby. It all works, you just need to do whats necessary behind the scenes to keep it working

Thanks.

Billldg · Oct 12, 2018

Welcome to R2R!!! A lot of great info about rinsing the sand from some very knowledgeable reefers, but personally, I would take the safest route and buy new sand.

sbrotty · Oct 12, 2018

Billldg said:
Welcome to R2R!!! A lot of great info about rinsing the sand from some very knowledgeable reefers, but personally, I would take the safest route and buy new sand.

Thanks I agree. Off to the store I go.

Ruben's Reef · Oct 12, 2018

!!! Welcome to R2R !!! I would avoid the risk and get new sand but rinse the existing sand is an option too.

don_chuwish · Oct 12, 2018

Lots of responses already but I just can't resist. Even if buying new sand you should still take the time to rinse it well. So I say clean & re-use the old.
Rinse VERY well with the garden hose & bucket method, in small batches, each until they run clean.
Give it a good overnight soak in vinegar - then do the rinse routine again. It'll look just like new sand.

Pete1968 · Oct 12, 2018

Get new sand! I tried the same thing when I upgraded my 93 cube to a 200 gallon tank and had a huge ammonia spike that wiped out my tank! Not worth the risk

GoVols · Oct 13, 2018

Fudsey said:
Welcome to R2R ! ! !

DSC reef said:
You need to rinse it, rinse it;Hilarious

Lol!!

Tft12 · Oct 13, 2018

Did you dig into that bucket at all? I would have expected rotten egg smell from lack of oxygen and lots of organic material being broken down by bacteria. If buying new sand isn't a troublesome expense I would replace it. If that money is a lot right now, you could rinse it. I rinse sand very well with tap water and then give a final rinse with RO before adding to my system...I'm considering changing over to bare bottom at the moment.

GoVols · Oct 13, 2018

Tft12 said:
Did you dig into that bucket at all? I would have expected rotten egg smell from lack of oxygen and lots of organic material being broken down by bacteria. If buying new sand isn't a troublesome expense I would replace it. If that money is a lot right now, you could rinse it. I rinse sand very well with tap water and then give a final rinse with RO before adding to my system...I'm considering changing over to bare bottom at the moment.

FWIW:
I've been BB for years, and love it...

If I ever went back to sand, it would have to be those "Reef Flakes".... ;Woot ;Woot, that Premium Aquatics sells.

But...
(lol)
I'm not going back to sand... ;Stop

sbrotty · Oct 13, 2018

don_chuwish said:
Lots of responses already but I just can't resist. Even if buying new sand you should still take the time to rinse it well. So I say clean & re-use the old.
Rinse VERY well with the garden hose & bucket method, in small batches, each until they run clean.
Give it a good overnight soak in vinegar - then do the rinse routine again. It'll look just like new sand.

Thanks good advice. I think the thrill of something new has intrigued me. Never used tropic eden, so that’s my new substrate.

GoVols · Oct 13, 2018

sbrotty said:
Thanks good advice. I think the thrill of something new has intrigued me. Never used tropic eden, so that’s my new substrate.

Are you buying the "Reef Flakes"?

sbrotty · Oct 13, 2018

Pete1968 said:
Get new sand! I tried the same thing when I upgraded my 93 cube to a 200 gallon tank and had a huge ammonia spike that wiped out my tank! Not worth the risk

I agree with you. But I wouldn’t add my fish back until conditions were perfect. I have the luxury of 90g and a 40 setup and fully equipped they been running for a year

cracker · Oct 13, 2018

Welcome Bill . Either way I personally wash any sand new or used. mine as well save the bucks. It's a time consuming pita job either way.

sbrotty · Oct 13, 2018

GoVols said:
Are you buying the "Reef Flakes"?

Yes looking for best prices. Might get the mini or Mesoflakes though

sbrotty · Oct 13, 2018

Tft12 said:
Did you dig into that bucket at all? I would have expected rotten egg smell from lack of oxygen and lots of organic material being broken down by bacteria. If buying new sand isn't a troublesome expense I would replace it. If that money is a lot right now, you could rinse it. I rinse sand very well with tap water and then give a final rinse with RO before adding to my system...I'm considering changing over to bare bottom at the moment.

Lol didn’t dig in the sand. I thought I would’ve smelled something fishy when I opened the bucket. But wanted to get some advice before I started anything. When I made the move I put my rock and fish in a 90 gal and did it bare bottom because it was going to be temp a couple of days tops. Lol it turned into a year. But the bare bottom has been a dream as far as maintenance. But I’m obsessed with wrasses.