USED SAND?

[marlinmero]

I was wondering what the opinion on used sand is. is it a good idea? im stepping up from a 75 to a 130gallon and got 3 5gallon buckets of sand. 2 from a fellow reefer and one from a LFS. but im nervous to use it. if i boil it all should it be pest free? im not worried about it being live cause mixed with the sand out of my 75 it should become live quick. so whats your opinions on used sand? am i settin my slef up for bad bugs and disease and what not?

 

[ac7av]

If you’re trying to save a few bucks then clean it and reuse it. I would not put it in the tank with out cleaning and rinsing it. You can boil it, bleach it, or rinse it with clean water and dry it before putting it into the tank. IMO any way you go with it is a lot of work and reef sand is usually not too expensive in even the local pet stores. A 40lb bag at my local store is $35, and a lot less hassle.

 

[marlinmero]

thank you for the info. i think im leaning towards boiling it all. and if we ever get any sun the ill dry it

 

[lvsuckerfish]

if you boil it with out bleach you will be ok also you can take a pillow case and hold over the shower and rinse it must have strong arms though lol

 

[lvsuckerfish]

I have never been a fan from using live sand from another tank or my own i don't even seed the sand from someone elses tank. but thats me. over time it will be come live again. I would just rinse it in the shower with the above method and you will be golden

 

[fishoutofwater]

I have always run a garden hose to it for 10-15 minutes until it runs clear. I cleaned 5 buckets of sand this way. I also used a sifter to pull out any larger pieces of debri. Why throw it out and be wastful when it's completly fine to clean and reuse. Jmho.

 

[thatguy559]

+1 for fish i do the exact same thing except i put it in a 18g tub and rinse it that way there is more surface area to clean in. even with new sand you still have to rinse it so why waste the money

 

[WA coral]

ya just a garden hose no need to boil it even if you get new sand you still need to rinse it same way untill it runs clear

 

[TotalVapor]

After all the issues I had with sand over the years, I would suggest not to use sand at all. Get some fast growing zoo's and let them take over the bottom of your tank.

If you are worried about the sand look or want to have something for the zoo's to grab onto I would use epoxy on the bottom (thin coat) and then put sand on top to cover it. After the epoxy has had time to cure rinse out the remaining loose sand.

 

[marlinmero]

got a new issue with my sand now. lol i was cuttin some wood and the sawdust got into the buckets. it was non pressure treated wood. should it still be ok to just rinse? i did get 80lbs of marco rocks sand so i dont need much. i just want to mix sum crushed coral in with it now. the marco sand is super fine

 

[lvsuckerfish]

does the wood float? if so net it out

 

[marlinmero]

not sure i havent tried. wasnt sure if it was worth trying.

 

[lvsuckerfish]

I had all kinds of things float in my sand and live rock saw dust I just added water and netted it all out what I missed the filter floss would catch.

 

[fishoutofwater]

Just rinse. It will be fine. It will float and what doesn't your filter pads will catch it.