Used Sand

Instigate · Sep 28, 2017

I'm setting up a coral and invert QT and was thinking I would have sand and some rock in it. I have a bucket of sand that came with a tank I got on craigslist. The guy at the LFS scared me out of using it because it might have been exposed to copper. The guy I bought the setup from maintains tanks for a living and the LFS guy said they are notorious for dosing copper to the display.

I already washed it with a hose like the mile high reefers video shows. Should I take the sand and rock and put it in an extra tank and let it run with a hob for a few days then test the water for copper? Should I bother even doing that? Or should I just go BB and be done with it?

deedubz · Sep 28, 2017

I personally wouldn't use it. I don't transfer sand or rock amongst my own tanks much less someone else's. No clue what he did or didn't expose that sand to. If you're thinking of going bb just go bb, or go buy a bag of new sand and don't worry about it. Did you wash the tank thoroughly with bleach and or vinegar?

nautical_nathaniel · Sep 28, 2017

When you buy someone else's reef, you inherit their problems in some aspect, I wouldn't use the sand because it might have some sort of built up nutrients, algae residue, or remnants of pests. I tried to clean up some used sand one time and it had a ton of bristleworm bristles in it and my hands got all swollen up. The sand was still very dirty so I just tossed it.

Instigate · Sep 28, 2017

dwwataz said:
I personally wouldn't use it. I don't transfer sand or rock amongst my own tanks much less someone else's. No clue what he did or didn't expose that sand to. If you're thinking of going bb just go bb, or go buy a bag of new sand and don't worry about it. Did you wash the tank thoroughly with bleach and or vinegar?

The tank was cleaned thoroughly with vinegar and was dry for about a week before I bought it as well as being dry for a couple weeks before I filled it. I'm not too concerned about the tank. I'm thinking I will just go BB and might not even worry about putting rock in it. Just make a egg crate frag rack. Which would be fine for corals but I feel like I should have sand and rock for the inverts. Idk maybe I will buy some sand, just feels like a waste because I have 5 gallons of fiji pink in the garage.

pensacola-aquarist said:
When you buy someone else's reef, you inherit their problems in some aspect, I wouldn't use the sand because it might have some sort of built up nutrients, algae residue, or remnants of pests. I tried to clean up some used sand one time and it had a ton of bristleworm bristles in it and my hands got all swollen up. The sand was still very dirty so I just tossed it.

That's horrible, I'm glad that didn't happen to me when I was cleaning the sand. I rinsed it in a bucket with with the garden hose and had my hands and arms all up in it.

saltyfilmfolks · Sep 28, 2017

Used sand can be fine if cleaned well. Likely you'll just inherit phosphates.
If copper is a concern it's not worth the $25 for a bag of new sand.

deedubz · Sep 28, 2017

I have zero experience with this but..

When I've regenerated purigen I soaked it in bleach for 24 hours, rinsed thoroughly, then soaked it in a solution of 2-4 tablespoons of prime(to dechrolinize, but it also supposedly pulls metal) per gallon of water for 12 hours.
You could try the bleach soak, rinse, prime soak, rinse and run some carbon or another metal remover. Problem here is that you've spent ~ the same amount of money buying the other stuff as you would a bag of sand.

You could always hold onto the sand for a fowlr setup if that at all appeals to you? I definitely understand though, seems such a waste to toss it but I'd be too afraid myself to use it