Mildew in sand an issue?

[NeveSSL]

Quick question... I had sand that was cleaned, but then I didn't properly dry it. I noticed it smelled off yesterday as I was mixing my sands together together, and I just realized today that it's a mildew smell.

Is this going to cause any issues with my tank? Should I do anything? Right now there's just RODI water, rock, and sand in the tank.

Brandon

 

[littlefoxx]

Quick question... I had sand that was cleaned, but then I didn't properly dry it. I noticed it smelled off yesterday as I was mixing my sands together together, and I just realized today that it's a mildew smell.

Is this going to cause any issues with my tank? Should I do anything? Right now there's just RODI water, rock, and sand in the tank.

Brandon

Hum thats an odd issue. Is there mold in the sand?

 

[NeveSSL]

If there is, I don't think it's visible at least. I mainly just noticed the mildew smell as I was scooping it into the tank.

 

[findingsimple]

When I started my tank I was told to clean my sand then get a delivery of water (it was 570L and I didn’t own an RODI) - I dutifully did what I was told and then added the sand to my tank. The LFS then informed me they couldn’t deliver the water for weeks and didn’t have any RODI units left (it was over Christmas). Long story short my sand sat in the tank for a good while, stunk to the high heavens (mildew/mouldy smell) - I gave it a few turns over every now and again to try and help things.

I don’t believe I’ve noticed any specific ill effects. My cycling period felt a bit weird - didn’t have any big spikes in nitrites and nitrates but it got there in the end. Probably worth just keeping an eye on your levels and doing a bigger water change towards the end.

(Not an expert - just sharing my experience)

 

[NeveSSL]

Thank you for sharing!

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Unless it smells of rotten eggs (hydrogen sulfide), a simple rinse is sufficient.

 

[NeveSSL]

Thank you!