What do you all think about Sand? Need advice

[skymastre]

I have to tell you, I hate it.

It gets dirty, and there is never a consensus on whether to clean it or not.

I recently got a a new 75 gallon oceanic tank and am getting out of my DIY LED aquapod. The Oceanic is a great tank, currently cycling, ... and the folks who sold it to me were awesome. A big thank you to TehAwesome!

But...the sand is pretty dirty...I've learned a lot in the past two years, but I still have questions.


1. Do I replace the sand with some new live sand / dead sand combo?

2. If I replace the sand, is there any way to save some of the critters (snails, worms, etc) from the old sand

3. How deep to go with the sand bed and how many lbs to get? What is the thinnest? I've hear anywhere between 2-6 inchess is necessary...hmmm

4. What is the consensus on this forum about cleaning your sand?

Any thoughts you all have would be appreciated. There is a pretty good detritus build up in the current 90lbs of sand and I just don't think it can be cleaned. Now is the perfect time to swap sand...or just let it be.

 

[rdnelson]

If you are going to use the existing sand I would wash it thoroughly. If you go 6" deep that would be a Deep Sand Bed and from all I have read you don't want to disturb it or you are defeating the purpose. Unless you intend on a Deep Sand Bed, I would not go more than about 2". Many say to only lightly vacuum a regular sand bed and others say vacuum it well. The argument against it is that you are stirring up the nasty stuff that collects in the sand bed.

 

[skymastre]

Would you wash with salt water in hopes of preserving the critters living in it?

What would you use, a collinder??

Sorry, have never washed sand before. Only gotten it new and thrown it in the tank. Will probably stick to the 1.5-2 inch bed and go 6 inch in refuge

 

[rdnelson]

I have not done it either but have read several post from others. I wouldn't worry about keeping critters alive if it were me. You never know what is in it. Washing it with RO/DI water would be best. You don't want to get phosphates from tap water embedded in it or you will get algae problems later. Put some in a bucket and the run water over it and let the water run over the sides washing out all the light stuff while allowing the sand to settle. I would imagine you will lose some of the sand though. When you are done, the sand will be dead. You can get a cup of live sand from someone who has a tank and use it to seed it or you can just wait for it to populate on its own. Hope that helps.

 

[cr500_af]

Cleaning sand (with a gravel vac) is fine BUT you don't want to do too much at a time because you will stir up some funk. This goes double if it has never been cleaned. If I were you, I would vacuum about 10% maximum a week or at each water change (moving the area each time, of course). Over time the sandbed will clean up and you won't risk a major crash by trying to get it out of a running system.

 

[skymastre]

Well the system isn't running now, per say. There is only live rock in the tank and it is going through a mini cycle.

The question would be since there is so much gunk in the sand, would it be better just to either

a) take it out and clean it, reseed it with sand from my old tank

or b) throw it out and get new

or c) leave it be. you can literally see the deatris sitting on it.


one point to mention is that the sand was all ready badly disturbed...aka raked into a corner (long story) during the tank's move...

 

[cr500_af]

Heck, in that case, vacuum the crap out of it (literally) and wait for the cycle to end.

 

[skriz]

B

Trying to wash that sand will only end in disaster.

Get new live sand, and seed it with some old sand. This will keep the critters, but not the crap.

skymastre;720626 wrote: Well the system isn't running now, per say. There is only live rock in the tank and it is going through a mini cycle.

The question would be since there is so much gunk in the sand, would it be better just to either

a) take it out and clean it, reseed it with sand from my old tank

or b) throw it out and get new

or c) leave it be. you can literally see the deatris sitting on it.


one point to mention is that the sand was all ready badly disturbed...aka raked into a corner (long story) during the tank's move...

 

[skymastre]

yea, that sorta seems like the way to go

 

[db366]

Sand is cheap, I'd get 2 40lb bags or 1 40 and 1 20 and you'll be set.