Rinsing new sand

Barro777 · 02/08/2012, 10:34 PM

Rinsing new sand. In what water, tap or RO?

sporto0 · 02/08/2012, 10:39 PM

Rinsing out new sand will take hours to do if done correctly, depending on how much sand of course, but it would not be practical to use RO/DI water, you can give a final rinse in RO/DI if you like but tap water is fine to use.

ReLPSef · 02/08/2012, 10:46 PM

+1....

Ron Reefman · 02/09/2012, 04:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sporto0

Rinsing out new sand will take hours to do if done correctly, depending on how much sand of course, but it would not be practical to use RO/DI water, you can give a final rinse in RO/DI if you like but tap water is fine to use.

I don't know what Sporto0 means by 'correctly', but I put mine in 2 big buckets and pushed a garden hose (full pressure) down in it. Move the hose up and down letting the cloudy water flow over the top of the bucket. It took all of 5-10minutes. Then let it drain as much as possible. A final rinse with RO or SW (use water from a water change to your tank) would be a good final step.

thegrun · 02/09/2012, 07:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ron Reefman

I don't know what Sporto0 means by 'correctly', but I put mine in 2 big buckets and pushed a garden hose (full pressure) down in it. Move the hose up and down letting the cloudy water flow over the top of the bucket. It took all of 5-10minutes. Then let it drain as much as possible. A final rinse with RO or SW (use water from a water change to your tank) would be a good final step.

Exactly how I do it. 5 gallon bucket and a garden hose.

sporto0 · 02/09/2012, 01:00 PM

Well Ron, 5 to 10 minutes is not the way I do it, if the weather permits, the garden hose is employed, but just stuffing it in does not stir up the sand enough, I put on thick rubber gloves & churn the sand with my hand over & over again until the water is almost clear, you can never get it completely clear, but relatively so & if I'm cleaning 80-90lbs of new sand this way, it takes me hours, obviously I used the word correctly without qualifying that I meant my way, not neccessarily the only right way, however I do know my way prevents a cloudy new tank for sure.

mess7777 · 02/09/2012, 01:57 PM

put it in an old pillow case, rinse the hell out of it. then dump it out, no mess, easy.

don't waste RODI rinsing sand.

aleonn · 02/09/2012, 02:06 PM

I use tap water in a 5 gallon bucket, and wear gloves to manually churn the sand. Repeat 5-10 times, or until the sand is pretty clear. Then I place the bucket outdoors for a few days to allow it to dry, and for the chlorine to dissipate.

xCry0x · 02/09/2012, 02:48 PM

+1 on gloves, i did it bare hand and getting micro grains of sand under your nails stings like ****.

If you can do it outside use a big bucket and a hose, stir with a stick or your hands to churn it all up until it is clear-ish.

I live in an apartment so I did it all in my spare bathtub with a pillowcase, was a huge pain but the amount of crud you wash off is ridiculous. I wish they would sell pre rinsed sand!

sprinklerman500 · 02/09/2012, 09:25 PM

I made the miss take of not rinsing and you know happened,10 water changes later it was under controll =[

Silvansaria · 04/24/2012, 10:19 PM

@ Sprinklerman500 -

I did the same thing... Just dumped the new sand in there - and my tank was cloudy all to hell for a few days. Once it cleared I thought everything was cool - the second I touched the sand - instant sandstorm. Everything is covered in fine sand...

I notice my skimmer seems to be pulling out a lot of nastiness from it but it's still cloudy and usually takes like 2-3 hours to get clear again once everything settles. I'm gonna be adding new live rock - so I think what I will do is churn the sand - get it all cloudy - and do a water change to try and suck all that out...

Hopefully it won't take 10 times... I have an 88 gallon tank...

FreakingReefing · 04/24/2012, 11:00 PM

will it still be live sand after the rinse or does the water kill anything? was gonna use a bag to seed some sand I already have

CliftonArbogast · 04/25/2012, 12:33 PM

i doubt its really alive unless you get it from a running system. most things that live in water dont like to dry out for months, even bacteria.

02/08/2012, 10:34 PM	#1
Barro777 Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2011 Location: Greenville, SC Posts: 173	Rinsing new sand Rinsing new sand. In what water, tap or RO?

04/24/2012, 10:19 PM	#11
Silvansaria Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2012 Location: San Diego Posts: 31	@ Sprinklerman500 - I did the same thing... Just dumped the new sand in there - and my tank was cloudy all to hell for a few days. Once it cleared I thought everything was cool - the second I touched the sand - instant sandstorm. Everything is covered in fine sand... I notice my skimmer seems to be pulling out a lot of nastiness from it but it's still cloudy and usually takes like 2-3 hours to get clear again once everything settles. I'm gonna be adding new live rock - so I think what I will do is churn the sand - get it all cloudy - and do a water change to try and suck all that out... Hopefully it won't take 10 times... I have an 88 gallon tank... __________________ NEW 88 reef tank 2 skimmers, 4 Powerheads, 50 pounds live rock Clowns, Bangai, Yellow Tang, Goby, Midnight Damsel, etc CuC: Blue Legged, Scarlets, Halloween, Blue Knuckled, Snails Current Tank Info: 88 gallon custom tank. Clowns, Tribal Blenny, Royal Gramma, Engineer Goby, Yellow-Tail Damsel... lots of hermits, frogspawn, branching gsp, zoas... You know - all that saltwater stuff.

02/08/2012, 10:39 PM	#2
sporto0 Moved On Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: Pittsburgh, Pa. Posts: 2,924	Rinsing out new sand will take hours to do if done correctly, depending on how much sand of course, but it would not be practical to use RO/DI water, you can give a final rinse in RO/DI if you like but tap water is fine to use.

02/08/2012, 10:46 PM	#3
ReLPSef Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2012 Location: Florida Posts: 169	+1....

02/09/2012, 01:00 PM	#6
sporto0 Moved On Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: Pittsburgh, Pa. Posts: 2,924	Well Ron, 5 to 10 minutes is not the way I do it, if the weather permits, the garden hose is employed, but just stuffing it in does not stir up the sand enough, I put on thick rubber gloves & churn the sand with my hand over & over again until the water is almost clear, you can never get it completely clear, but relatively so & if I'm cleaning 80-90lbs of new sand this way, it takes me hours, obviously I used the word correctly without qualifying that I meant my way, not neccessarily the only right way, however I do know my way prevents a cloudy new tank for sure.

02/09/2012, 01:57 PM	#7
mess7777 Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: QC,QC Posts: 987	put it in an old pillow case, rinse the hell out of it. then dump it out, no mess, easy. don't waste RODI rinsing sand.

02/09/2012, 02:06 PM	#8
aleonn Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2010 Posts: 4,041	I use tap water in a 5 gallon bucket, and wear gloves to manually churn the sand. Repeat 5-10 times, or until the sand is pretty clear. Then I place the bucket outdoors for a few days to allow it to dry, and for the chlorine to dissipate.

02/09/2012, 02:48 PM	#9
xCry0x Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: Martinez, CA Posts: 1,116	+1 on gloves, i did it bare hand and getting micro grains of sand under your nails stings like ****. If you can do it outside use a big bucket and a hose, stir with a stick or your hands to churn it all up until it is clear-ish. I live in an apartment so I did it all in my spare bathtub with a pillowcase, was a huge pain but the amount of crud you wash off is ridiculous. I wish they would sell pre rinsed sand!

02/09/2012, 09:25 PM	#10
sprinklerman500 Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2011 Location: Locust Grove GA. Posts: 57	I made the miss take of not rinsing and you know happened,10 water changes later it was under controll =[

04/24/2012, 11:00 PM	#12
FreakingReefing Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2012 Location: North Tonawanda, New York Posts: 79	will it still be live sand after the rinse or does the water kill anything? was gonna use a bag to seed some sand I already have

04/25/2012, 12:33 PM	#13
CliftonArbogast Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: Houston TX (south side) Posts: 165	i doubt its really alive unless you get it from a running system. most things that live in water dont like to dry out for months, even bacteria.