Should I reuse sand vacuumed out of tank?

[ArtC]

I've been cleaning the sand out of one side of my tank because I have a pile of new rock to drop there.

 

The bed was 1"-2" deep; a few pockets of anoxic in the corners and a couple of clumped areas. Tank is 2 years old. pH in the collection bucket was 8.0, I didn't measure nitrates.

 

So after I get the new rock set, should I SW rinse and reuse the sand or toss it and get a new batch?

[lanman]

I've been cleaning the sand out of one side of my tank because I have a pile of new rock to drop there.

 

The bed was 1"-2" deep; a few pockets of anoxic in the corners and a couple of clumped areas. Tank is 2 years old. pH in the collection bucket was 8.0, I didn't measure nitrates.

 

So after I get the new rock set, should I SW rinse and reuse the sand or toss it and get a new batch?

 

I would use new sand. BUT - I think most people would disagree with me. Only way I'd re-use it, is to freshwater rinse it, and sun-dry it. I just can't see putting 'used' sand back in the tank, when new sand is so cheap.

 

bob

[ArtC]

I would use new sand. BUT - I think most people would disagree with me. Only way I'd re-use it, is to freshwater rinse it, and sun-dry it. I just can't see putting 'used' sand back in the tank, when new sand is so cheap.

 

bob

 

Why the hard-kill treatment? It's going back in the same tank it came out of.

 

And where is sand so cheap? (Or maybe that's me )

[jamesbuf]

Why the hard-kill treatment? It's going back in the same tank it came out of.

 

And where is sand so cheap? (Or maybe that's me )

 

I personally would just rinse the sand with some old saltwater from a water change, then throw it back in. I'm sure there is plenty of good bacteria in there, why would you want to kill it? If anything, do a mixture of new sand and the old stuff.

[treesprite]

I thought the primary concern with using old sand is the ntirate it releases into the water when stirred up.

[discretekarma]

How much sand are you talking about? Today I did the same thing in my frag tank to clean up the sand bed and then I just rinsed in saltwater and returned it too the tank. I'm not sure where Bob is getting his sand so cheap but I can't afford to replace my sand every time I get algae on my sand bed.

[lanman]

Why the hard-kill treatment? It's going back in the same tank it came out of.

 

And where is sand so cheap? (Or maybe that's me )

 

40 pounds for $30 - doesn't seem very expensive to me, in small quantities. Now purchasing it for my 240; we're talking a bit of money - but still pretty cheap compared to the rest of the setup costs.

 

bob

[ArtC]

I tossed out 3x5g buckets of sand from my old sump, but that was definitely anoxic and filthy.

 

Probably around 10g from the tank itself. Just checked ammonia and nitrite in the barrel I siphoned the sand into, zero and zero. So I guess I'm not afraid of it, even if it doesn't smell like a tropical breeze.

 

New sand is prettier, but old sand is cheaper and definitely more 'live'. I don't want to get rid of too many of my bed bugs at once. Unless I've already killed them and would just be dumping their bodies back into the tank!

 

Also, I got really tired of carrying buckets of wet sand to the dumpster!

 

I think I will set up the DSB in a separate container this time, and keep the sand in the tank shallow.

 

Some of us can't make enough money off our frags to pay for our hobby - I've already blown next year's budget.

[treesprite]

still pretty cheap compared to the rest of the setup costs.

That's comparing apples to oranges. Also, sand is expensive compared to it's lack of necessity, a lack which is made bigger by the fact that the unecessary item desired is already owned just needs a little clean-up.

 

I got my sand used from 2 different sources and rinsed until the cows come home, in fresh water. Rinsing it takes out a lot of the particles that would be staying suspended in the water for more than a couple minutes. I rinsed enough that when I put the sand in the tank it barely made a cloud, and it was very nice to not have to wait for the sand to settle out of the water which would have delayed getting things back together as much as having to rinse does.

 

Oh, here's a tip for putting sand into the tank. Take a tall narrow container like a spaghetti chanister, fill it with sand, lower into the tank upright with hand over it; when at the desired location at the bottom of the tank, remove hand, turn canister upside down quickly, completely verticle, remove hand from over it, and very slowly lift it up as the sand slowly come out from under it. Sand cloud stays localized. Always keep the container vertical.

Edited November 26, 2007 by treesprite

[Rascal]

I don't want to get rid of too many of my bed bugs at once. Unless I've already killed them and would just be dumping their bodies back into the tank!

 

That's really the dilemma right there, at least it was for me. When I went from a 54 to a 150, I intended to just take enough sand from the old tank to seed the new. Every time I pulled up a scoopfull of sand and got ready to put it in the dump bucket though, I would see a little worm or something and just couldn't bring myself to throw it out. I ended up discarding only the anoxic stuff. Anything that didn't smell like rotten eggs got a saltwater rinse and a new home. I'm sure there was some die-off initially, but to me it was worth it.