Didn't rinse sand...

ReeferRogers · 02/23/2013, 12:12 PM

I didn't rinse my sand. Fine from Marco. I have a shop vac specifically for my tank, and was told to vac out the sand, rinse it and put back in. A trusted fellow reefer told me this. Any experience with this?

bnumair · 02/23/2013, 12:18 PM

if u let it be it might be milky for a day or two but will eventually settle down. otherwise u can pull it back out and rinse it then place it back in.

PAnanoguy · 02/23/2013, 01:24 PM

shopvac it out?!? why not just scoop it out?

Palting · 02/23/2013, 01:34 PM

I used 80 lbs live sand, and did not rinse it. That was 3 years ago, no issues.

IMO, you already have it sitting in a tank full of saltwater. It's been rinsed

. Keep it.

GroktheCube · 02/23/2013, 01:40 PM

I got Caribsea sugarfine for my new 120, along with some cultured LS from PA. I rinsed the caribsea a little to get SUPER fine dust out, but then just mixed it up and tossed it in. After a few days, I put a 100 micron sock on the drain tube. A week later, water is crystal clear, and I have beautiful fine sand (with some larger pieces of LS mixed in). No need to go too nuts with the rinsing. A little patience, a filter sock, some bacteria, and a way to blow dust off your rock and you'll have beautiful fine sand.

footballdude2k3 · 02/23/2013, 04:53 PM

You're not going to get any of the fine material that is already floating in the tank, just give it some time, you will be alright

yort265 · 02/23/2013, 05:08 PM

used caribsea fiji pink. didn't rinse cause directions said not to... water was clear in 3 days. run your skimmer to get fine dust out of the water. the skimmer will need to be cleaned after this, but it does a great job at takin the dust out.

Reef Frog · 02/23/2013, 06:49 PM

My experience was different with super fine sand (Carib Sea). It stayed milky for days. I siphoned most of the water & let it sit overnight. The ultra fine powder sunk to the bottom of the tub. I then carefully removed the clear water on top with a pump or siphon (can't remember) without disturbing the layer on the bottom. Discarded the slurry & small amount of water on the bottom. Worked like a charm.

I waited many days while skimming & filtering. Even added clarifier on a bad LFS suggestion. Bad idea as it didn't clear the water but did leave sticky residue on pumps etc. I'll never use ultra fine sugar sand again.

ReeferRogers · 02/25/2013, 07:20 PM

Thank you all for the feedback. I'll just let it settle and get a filter sock.

garydan · 02/25/2013, 07:46 PM

I made that mistake a few years back with the Marco sand... If i had to do it over again, i'd pull it out and rinse it. Yes, it will settle over time, but then any time a power head gets pointed wrong or a fish swims in a cave, it'll stir up the sand and you'll get a sandstorm and milky water all over again. Then, the fine grains in the water get sucked into pumps and act as sandpaper, destroying the impellers and shafts... You want to run a filter sock to remove it? Well, that means the pump is going to be running in the milky water, and it may damage it. My eheim 1262 did OK with it (it's just a bit louder now but i haven't replaced the impeller or shaft), everything else had to have the impellers replaced. Easier to fix now without livestock than to wait. Just my .02.

eacosta · 02/26/2013, 09:54 AM

I had a similar issue. I threw a cheap hob filter and got the fine dust out of the water that way.

Redngold · 02/26/2013, 10:12 AM

You should be fine like said above just means it will take longer to settle. Either run a filter sock or a cheap hob with some filter floss.

peligro · 02/26/2013, 10:21 AM

How deep is your sand bed? And I would rinse it. Sand is a nitrate, and nitrite factory. If it's more then 4" then you'd have a pretty good anaerobic zone formed. Why would you wanna risk throwing that into your tank. And allow all that to be in your water column? You'd have to wait longer before you put anything in your tank. I would rinse it with so ro/di water. And do half of your old sand so you can seed the new sand. Just a suggestion

Optimus G

02/23/2013, 12:12 PM	#1
ReeferRogers Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2012 Location: Jersey Posts: 11	Didn't rinse sand... I didn't rinse my sand. Fine from Marco. I have a shop vac specifically for my tank, and was told to vac out the sand, rinse it and put back in. A trusted fellow reefer told me this. Any experience with this?

02/23/2013, 12:18 PM	#2
bnumair Dr. Reef at ur service Join Date: May 2009 Location: Tulsa, Ok, USA Posts: 7,751 Blog Entries: 15	if u let it be it might be milky for a day or two but will eventually settle down. otherwise u can pull it back out and rinse it then place it back in. __________________ Water Quality: NO3 0,Phos 0,Cal 440,Alk 7.5,Mag 1300 "Reef Fast, You Crash, Reef Slow, You Pass" Mike's Reef 3:16 Current Tank Info: 350g DT,95g sump, 50g Frag tank, 4800gph return 4x Sea swirls. 6x AI Vega Color. 200# Pukani rock, dual recirculating skimmer, Biopellet, GFO Carbon rx's, Cal rx. Closed loop. 1.5hp chiller, genesis renew. Apex & RKE

02/23/2013, 01:24 PM	#3
PAnanoguy Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: Red Lion, PA Posts: 441	shopvac it out?!? why not just scoop it out? __________________ 120 Gallon Mixed Reef Apex Controller, (1) Radion XR30w Gen 1 with Gen 3 upgrade, (1) Radion XR30w Gen 3, MP10ESw, MP40ESw, Bubble Magus NAC7 skimmer, Eheim 1260 retun pump, Eshopps 2 channel doser,

02/23/2013, 01:34 PM	#4
Palting Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: Ohio Posts: 6,912	I used 80 lbs live sand, and did not rinse it. That was 3 years ago, no issues. IMO, you already have it sitting in a tank full of saltwater. It's been rinsed . Keep it. __________________ Anything I post is just an opinion. One of many in this hobby. Believe and follow at your own risk of rapid and complete annihilation of all life in your tank :) Current Tank Info: Incept 3/2010, 150 RR, 50g sump, 20g fuge, 150w 15K MH x3, T5 actinics x8, moonlight LED x6, 1400gph return, Koralia 1400 x4, 300 g skimmer, 4 tangs, 2 mandarins, 2 perc, 6 line, 3 cardinals, 2 firefish, SPS, LPS, zoas, palys, shrooms, clam

02/25/2013, 07:20 PM	#9
ReeferRogers Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2012 Location: Jersey Posts: 11	Thanks... Thank you all for the feedback. I'll just let it settle and get a filter sock.

02/23/2013, 01:40 PM	#5
GroktheCube Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2012 Posts: 2,063	I got Caribsea sugarfine for my new 120, along with some cultured LS from PA. I rinsed the caribsea a little to get SUPER fine dust out, but then just mixed it up and tossed it in. After a few days, I put a 100 micron sock on the drain tube. A week later, water is crystal clear, and I have beautiful fine sand (with some larger pieces of LS mixed in). No need to go too nuts with the rinsing. A little patience, a filter sock, some bacteria, and a way to blow dust off your rock and you'll have beautiful fine sand.

02/23/2013, 04:53 PM	#6
footballdude2k3 Registered Member. Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: San Antonio, Texas Posts: 1,974	You're not going to get any of the fine material that is already floating in the tank, just give it some time, you will be alright

02/23/2013, 05:08 PM	#7
yort265 Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2012 Location: East Texas Posts: 143	used caribsea fiji pink. didn't rinse cause directions said not to... water was clear in 3 days. run your skimmer to get fine dust out of the water. the skimmer will need to be cleaned after this, but it does a great job at takin the dust out.

02/23/2013, 06:49 PM	#8
Reef Frog Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2013 Location: Maryland Posts: 3,121	My experience was different with super fine sand (Carib Sea). It stayed milky for days. I siphoned most of the water & let it sit overnight. The ultra fine powder sunk to the bottom of the tub. I then carefully removed the clear water on top with a pump or siphon (can't remember) without disturbing the layer on the bottom. Discarded the slurry & small amount of water on the bottom. Worked like a charm. I waited many days while skimming & filtering. Even added clarifier on a bad LFS suggestion. Bad idea as it didn't clear the water but did leave sticky residue on pumps etc. I'll never use ultra fine sugar sand again.

02/25/2013, 07:46 PM	#10
garydan Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2009 Posts: 180	I made that mistake a few years back with the Marco sand... If i had to do it over again, i'd pull it out and rinse it. Yes, it will settle over time, but then any time a power head gets pointed wrong or a fish swims in a cave, it'll stir up the sand and you'll get a sandstorm and milky water all over again. Then, the fine grains in the water get sucked into pumps and act as sandpaper, destroying the impellers and shafts... You want to run a filter sock to remove it? Well, that means the pump is going to be running in the milky water, and it may damage it. My eheim 1262 did OK with it (it's just a bit louder now but i haven't replaced the impeller or shaft), everything else had to have the impellers replaced. Easier to fix now without livestock than to wait. Just my .02.

02/26/2013, 09:54 AM	#11
eacosta Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2012 Location: MD Posts: 135	I had a similar issue. I threw a cheap hob filter and got the fine dust out of the water that way.

02/26/2013, 10:12 AM	#12
Redngold Registered Member Join Date: May 2012 Location: Knoxville, TN Posts: 71	You should be fine like said above just means it will take longer to settle. Either run a filter sock or a cheap hob with some filter floss.

02/26/2013, 10:21 AM	#13
peligro Registered Member Join Date: May 2012 Location: Vancouver, wa Posts: 41	How deep is your sand bed? And I would rinse it. Sand is a nitrate, and nitrite factory. If it's more then 4" then you'd have a pretty good anaerobic zone formed. Why would you wanna risk throwing that into your tank. And allow all that to be in your water column? You'd have to wait longer before you put anything in your tank. I would rinse it with so ro/di water. And do half of your old sand so you can seed the new sand. Just a suggestion Optimus G