Washing Sand for New Aquarium

[bluecheese]

So I'm going to be using Carib Sea Aragonite sand for the new office tank. Dry sand. The bag states that I should "Rinse well with clean water".

Can I just use tap water to rinse out the sand, and then place the wet sand into the tank? I'd hate to have to use a ton of RODI water to clean the sand.

 

[brandon429]

yes agreed, we do this on running tanks years old, so a new tank isn't any harm. tap rinse to clarity, final rinse ro, use.

 

[bluecheese]

Can I place the washed sand into the tank wet, or do I have to wait for it to dry out first?

 

[brandon429]

its ready right then for use. in our official sand rinse thread, we take massive reef tanks worth more than twenty grand and take them apart, rinse the sand the actual aged sand as above, and re install it clean with rocks and corals back on top. we do this to effectively move homes or fix cyano issues, and some just want to go bare bottom and not put any sand back. rinse thoroughly, more than you'd expect. all this effort is only worth it if you get the snowglobe grains effect in the new tank, rinse heartily. then its ready for use or re use.

 

[Azedenkae]

So I'm going to be using Carib Sea Aragonite sand for the new office tank. Dry sand. The bag states that I should "Rinse well with clean water".

Can I just use tap water to rinse out the sand, and then place the wet sand into the tank? I'd hate to have to use a ton of RODI water to clean the sand.

Preferably RODI, but tap water really should be fine. If you want, a great compromise is rinse with tap water, then for the final one or two rinses, use RODI. It's just that if you use tap water, some of it can remain when you add the sand to the tank - but really the volume of tap water added should be minimal.

You don't need to let your sand dry, mostly because anything in the water that does not evaporate would just remain anyways if you dry the sand, and then when you add saltwater it'll be added again anyways so it doesn't change anything.

 

[reefiniteasy]

I just did this. I rinsed it twice in tap water in small batches. I then rinsed it twice in RODI, again in small batches in the garage sink. I used about 40 gallons of RODI. I found that rinsing in small batches enabled me to get the sand very clean using less water than if I used a hose in a bucket. I’ve done that before and this was easier.

edit: I did one 40 pound CaribSea bag.

 

[Azedenkae]

I just did this. I rinsed it twice in tap water in small batches. I then rinsed it twice in RODI, again in small batches in the garage sink. I used about 40 gallons of RODI. I found that rinsing in small batches enabled me to get the sand very clean using less water than if I used a hose in a bucket. I’ve done that before and this was easier.

edit: I did one 40 pound CaribSea bag.

Oh cool, that's good to know. I never thought about rinsing in small batches. Does actually make sense.

 

[jdiefenbaugh]

I have always used tap water to rinse dry sand. Either in slop sinks or bath tubs, rinse in 5 gallon buckets and stir until water runs clear. Pour off, and add to tank. Have done this on more tanks than I can remember, and never had an issue.

 

[Hugh Mann]

+1 to rinse with tap water, then final rinse with RO. Rinse until clear water comes out. Rinse in small batches. Fine to add wet.

 

[brandon429]

Adding a cog to the rinse wheel:

still do it even for wet pack live sand in a bag


revolt, on

(but what about the bacteria)

the claim is that it will always settle out, tell these guys
https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/so-i-didnt-rinse.592624/
https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/sandbed-stirred-up.544852/#post-5723606

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/very-cloudy-water-after-sand-and-rock.559386/#post-5735864
https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/question-about-vacuuming-sand-bed.616059/ https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/new-tank-milky-cloudy.616519/
Ocean direct live sand from CaribSea



10 days, still won't settle and clouds fully
https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/cloudy-tank.576835/

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/bummer-could-use-some-help.558301/


to care about bacteria and accept the cloud was the folly. The one kind of sand you don’t pre rinse is the one with wiggling worms in it in your hand. Bagged sand doesn’t have those.

 

[vtecintegra]

Just rinse it with tap. No need for RODI. That's being ridiculous.

 

[brandon429]

even though out of ocd i still ro rinse mine to evacuate tap

that's being done at the exact moment Im drinking tea made from the same tap water thats good enough for my gullet but claimed risky for a reef of massive dilution coming up

pressed on stand, in a reef court of law, I would fully bet it harms nothing to skip the ro portion and just go to town snowglobe style. I've really gotta try it on my next rip clean or no risk/science is advancing agreed. I have no right to speculate safety and then keep dodging the test lol. the tea sure is good. im too cheap to buy drinking water even though the recent post about gunk in apartment lines scared me a bit


also used on tap: washing out every aquarium filter for freshwater I've ever owned since the 80s before we were told it was bad. zero recycles in all the tap rinsing, put back wet into the canister or HOB with tap water.

 

[bluecheese]

Just finished rinsing the first bag, and good gravy... I see why they recommend rinsing this stuff. For the first 10 minutes, the water looked like white paint.

 

[Jrink]

I am just setting up my first reef tank and was just about to ask this. I was thinking about rinsing my sand with tap water and after the water starts to run clear, adding some tap water conditioner to the now clean water and agitating it for a bit before finally draining off the excess. Maybe I'm worrying too much.

Btw... been lurking for a while now, first post. Thanks for all the experience and knowledge that you guys share with us newbies. It's so nice to see so many beginner questions being answered with real info and not the standard forum answer - "this questions has been asked to death, use the search tool". That attitude makes me cringe, and I'm so glad I don't see that here.

 

[brandon429]

thats a fine idea, it will work perfectly

welcome!