Should I recycle my sand

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sbrotty

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Welcome to the forum! Another vote for just replacing it.. all things considered the cost of a few bags aragonite is relatively low.

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Yup yup I agree. Thanks
 
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Rinse and dry out is fine. New sand is fine. No sand is fine. It all works as long as you dedicate the time necessary for each option.

EDIT: Sorry, I know that's not helpful exactly.. But it's the truth behind all options and opinions in this hobby. It all works, you just need to do whats necessary behind the scenes to keep it working :D
Thanks.
 

don_chuwish

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Lots of responses already but I just can't resist. Even if buying new sand you should still take the time to rinse it well. So I say clean & re-use the old.
Rinse VERY well with the garden hose & bucket method, in small batches, each until they run clean.
Give it a good overnight soak in vinegar - then do the rinse routine again. It'll look just like new sand.
 

Pete1968

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Get new sand! I tried the same thing when I upgraded my 93 cube to a 200 gallon tank and had a huge ammonia spike that wiped out my tank! Not worth the risk
 

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Did you dig into that bucket at all? I would have expected rotten egg smell from lack of oxygen and lots of organic material being broken down by bacteria. If buying new sand isn't a troublesome expense I would replace it. If that money is a lot right now, you could rinse it. I rinse sand very well with tap water and then give a final rinse with RO before adding to my system...I'm considering changing over to bare bottom at the moment.
 

GoVols

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Did you dig into that bucket at all? I would have expected rotten egg smell from lack of oxygen and lots of organic material being broken down by bacteria. If buying new sand isn't a troublesome expense I would replace it. If that money is a lot right now, you could rinse it. I rinse sand very well with tap water and then give a final rinse with RO before adding to my system...I'm considering changing over to bare bottom at the moment.
FWIW:
I've been BB for years, and love it... :)

If I ever went back to sand, it would have to be those "Reef Flakes".... ;Woot ;Woot, that Premium Aquatics sells.

But...
(lol)
I'm not going back to sand... ;Stop

:D
 
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Lots of responses already but I just can't resist. Even if buying new sand you should still take the time to rinse it well. So I say clean & re-use the old.
Rinse VERY well with the garden hose & bucket method, in small batches, each until they run clean.
Give it a good overnight soak in vinegar - then do the rinse routine again. It'll look just like new sand.
Thanks good advice. I think the thrill of something new has intrigued me. Never used tropic eden, so that’s my new substrate.
 

GoVols

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Thanks good advice. I think the thrill of something new has intrigued me. Never used tropic eden, so that’s my new substrate.
Are you buying the "Reef Flakes"?
 
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Get new sand! I tried the same thing when I upgraded my 93 cube to a 200 gallon tank and had a huge ammonia spike that wiped out my tank! Not worth the risk
I agree with you. But I wouldn’t add my fish back until conditions were perfect. I have the luxury of 90g and a 40 setup and fully equipped they been running for a year
 
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Did you dig into that bucket at all? I would have expected rotten egg smell from lack of oxygen and lots of organic material being broken down by bacteria. If buying new sand isn't a troublesome expense I would replace it. If that money is a lot right now, you could rinse it. I rinse sand very well with tap water and then give a final rinse with RO before adding to my system...I'm considering changing over to bare bottom at the moment.
Lol didn’t dig in the sand. I thought I would’ve smelled something fishy when I opened the bucket. But wanted to get some advice before I started anything. When I made the move I put my rock and fish in a 90 gal and did it bare bottom because it was going to be temp a couple of days tops. Lol it turned into a year. But the bare bottom has been a dream as far as maintenance. But I’m obsessed with wrasses.
 

don_chuwish

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Yes looking for best prices. Might get the mini or Mesoflakes though
I did the Tonga Reefflakes and Tonga Miniflakes - about 1 mini to 1.5 regular. Very nice stuff. Quite clean out of the bag but I still rinsed it!
 

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