I'm going to rinse my sand bed. Who else has done this?

Have you ever "rinsed" your sand bed?

  • Yes

    Votes: 111 23.8%
  • No

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  • Not sure what that does

    Votes: 62 13.3%

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Daniel@R2R

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Even rinsing new sand out of the bag is too much work. When I had my garden eel tank I had to rinse the new sand and when I moved it 6-10" deep and a 36x24 footprint. I still have the sand in 5 gallon buckets under my deck in case I ever get garden eels again or something that deeps a deep sand bed like a hadoni. Otherwise though bare bottom is just so much easier / better once you get used to it. Try it for a couple of weeks or months and you might be surprised how much you like it. I don't think I'll ever go back to a sandbed unless I need it, it took me a long time to realize this which is why I'm pushing you towards it even though you mentioned you did not want bare bottom.
I've thought about it at times. I really like the look of sand, and usually I keep fish that need it...although I don't have any that do at the moment...
 

Viking_Reefing

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I’ve never rinsed it but I vaccine the entire sand bed every time I do a water change, meaning every two weeks.
The only reason to rinse it that I can see would be in you really neglected it for a long period of time.

I would personally be worried about throwing my tank out of whack from losing a decent portion of beneficial bacteria.
 

andrewkw

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If you're talking leopard wrasse or something similar a container hidden in the rock will be fine. I had a leopard wrasse for a couple of years who after 1 day of struggling to find it was fine. She'd probably still be with me if I didn't lose her when I moved 3 years back.

Sand sifting gobies ect may be more challenging. If you are going to take all the sand out and rinse there is no harm in trying bare bottom, if anything it eases the burden of washing the sand since it will give you more time.
 
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Daniel@R2R

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I’ve never rinsed it but I vaccine the entire sand bed every time I do a water change, meaning every two weeks.
The only reason to rinse it that I can see would be in you really neglected it for a long period of time.

I would personally be worried about throwing my tank out of whack from losing a decent portion of beneficial bacteria.
Mine was really neglected for a while. Honestly, at this moment, it's the best time for me to do something like this. I only gave a few corals at the moment, so I'd be working on it before rebuilding the full reef.
 
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Daniel@R2R

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If you're talking leopard wrasse or something similar a container hidden in the rock will be fine. I had a leopard wrasse for a couple of years who after 1 day of struggling to find it was fine. She'd probably still be with me if I didn't lose her when I moved 3 years back.

Sand sifting gobies ect may be more challenging. If you are going to take all the sand out and rinse there is no harm in trying bare bottom, if anything it eases the burden of washing the sand since it will give you more time.
That's fair. I think I may pull it and leave it out for a few days. It'll make rinsing it easier and more laid back as a process for sure. That'll give me time to see how I feel about it.
 

merereef

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Watch this skip to 6:15 in the video.. he uses carib sea fiji pink sand rinsed well.. hardly any cloud. I had a diamond goby was clouding the tank non stop.. i have now taken out the sand and rinsed it. Will wait a while before i add it back to the tank..

 

Mark3

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For many years I have used Florida beach sand for my tanks. I fill a 5gal bucket about 1/3 and rinse it with a power nozzle on the garden hose until it has a clean, clear rinse water. It has a nice look to it with all the small shells and white sugar sand. But just a few weeks ago I bought a tank full of aragonite sand, it had some algae and aiptasia in it, so I did a clorox rinse and then a muriatic acid bath ....long story, short...many hours and thousands of gallons of water later, I put it in the tank. Beautiful white sand, with NO Milky water!

I thought that stuff was never going to rinse clear, but eventually it did, and I am glad I spent the hours rinsing and rinsing....no cloud of white milky water when it is stirred up.
 
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Daniel@R2R

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Watch this skip to 6:15 in the video.. he uses carib sea fiji pink sand rinsed well.. hardly any cloud. I had a diamond goby was clouding the tank non stop.. i have now taken out the sand and rinsed it. Will wait a while before i add it back to the tank..


Good video. I think that's a good route to take once it's clean. I think my first step will be to pull the sand bed and rinse it, and then maintain it like this (assuming I don't decide to leave the sand out completely).
 

merereef

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Good video. I think that's a good route to take once it's clean. I think my first step will be to pull the sand bed and rinse it, and then maintain it like this (assuming I don't decide to leave the sand out completely).

A tip would be to remive half the water out the tank first and then remove sand.. have extra saltwater ready because once you remove sand the water volume will increase.. use filter floss in sump or fine filter socks to catch the stirred up silt..
 

robbyg

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I rinse mine every couple of years but I never remove the whole bed in one session. There are just too many variables with good bacteria and critters to know for sure what might happen. So suck out one side of the tanks sand and rinse it. (Yes I do vacuum jobs but the rinse really shows you that there is a lot the vacuum is not getting out). I then return it to the tank and wait a few weeks and then suck out the other side and rinse it.
 

vetteguy53081

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I spot siphon sandbed at water change. I only keep a 1" or so bedding as it is
 

Paul B

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I use gravel and I stir it up a few times a year and suck it out with a diatom filter right down to the UG filter.
I have been doing this for over 45 years.

 

brandon429

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I want to state how wise/helpful web threads are for vetting information. To get a 2nd and 3rd opinion is wise regarding tank surgery, any form of on-the-line action. We typically sink about five grand or so time/$ into a large reef, very serious business about to go down here.

Web threads to get supporting or contradicting facts are so amazingly helpful its why I prefer threads over books. What might have worked for just one doesnt usually translate well to the many, but web threads sample the many and reveal trends pro or con. I like how those participants that do more stirring/internal marine snow technique aren't seeing losses, that makes your move have even more of a safe zone if you are fully exporting it.

thumbs up for verify/second opinion on all life-on-the-line tank procedures.
 

motortrendz

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I prefer the heavier grain sand so it doesnt make too much of a cloud. When I do my water changes I just use my turkey baster and just gently stir the sand around to release anything trapped. I made the mistake of using fine sand in the beginning. Which I love how it looks but it never settles. Ever. Lol
 
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I prefer the heavier grain sand so it doesnt make too much of a cloud. When I do my water changes I just use my turkey baster and just gently stir the sand around to release anything trapped. I made the mistake of using fine sand in the beginning. Which I love how it looks but it never settles. Ever. Lol
Yeah. That's why I went with Reef Flakes this time.
 

sarcophytonIndy

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I prefer my sandbed DIRTY with lots of worms and pods

IMG_2833.JPG



IMG_2577.gif
 

jordan10

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I hit my sand bed ever water change with the vacuum tube witch is about ever 2 weeks and it stays clean and the dimond goby does a good job at it to. But I have never noticed anything bad

15682492792508443619341138226274.jpg
 

motortrendz

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I hit my sand bed ever water change with the vacuum tube witch is about ever 2 weeks and it stays clean and the dimond goby does a good job at it to. But I have never noticed anything bad

15682492792508443619341138226274.jpg
I'm actually Working on slowly.inceasomg the depth of my sand bed. I have about an inch to and inch and a half in some places. I just bought 2 more bags of flakes to try and get it up to 3.
 

jordan10

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I'm actually Working on slowly.inceasomg the depth of my sand bed. I have about an inch to and inch and a half in some places. I just bought 2 more bags of flakes to try and get it up to 3.
I think 3in would just look like alot imo well at least in my tank but I like 1 to 2in. I think sand beds are more work if u don't clean it every other week or so it's going build up with nastyniss. But I like them.
 

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