So I didn't rinse...

[Titleist]

So I was on the fence, pressed for time and didn't do what I should have done, rinse the sand. So now I have 3 bags of reef flakes in the tank, water's been cloudy for the last 3 days although it's clearing slowly.

I'm now in no other rush, so barring massive water changes, what are the other options? Clarifiers with skimmer running? Vacuuming sand heavily and replacing water?

From what I can tell clarifiers bind, but do they floc to the bed or get picked up in the skimmer more?

Better to do deep vac in the bed to get rid of the majority of fines or let it be as some have suggested as beneficial? Some are of the opinion that it leaves higher silicates in the tank while others say the fines are beneficial.

Now that I let a problem arise I'm in no rush. Have 't started cycling yet either.

 

[Pntbll687]

Why not siphon it out and rinse it?

You can put in back in using a piece of pvc pipe, I'd recommend 2in or bigger. Just put the pvc in the tank till it hits bottom, then SLOWLY add some sand inside the pipe, then SLOWLY lift up. The sand will come out the bottom and you should be good to go.

 

[cracker]

good idea Pnt ,

 

[Titleist]

Seems like I'd go through more water trying to pull it out of the tank wouldn't it? If I vacuumed it inside the tank would it still take out the silt without taking out the sand?

The reason I'm looking to lose the least amount of water is at the moment I have the RO line draped across the house from one side to the other and the cats get at it every once in a while :\

I'd rather use as much water as I have now until I can get it in pvc in the ceiling to the fish room.

 

[Sallstrom]

I would just let it be. Run the skimmer and wait for the water to clear up. No worries.

Put in a small particle filter if you want to speed it up.

 

[Cory]

You need some filter floss or a filter sock. Got one?

 

[Pntbll687]

Seems like I'd go through more water trying to pull it out of the tank wouldn't it? If I vacuumed it inside the tank would it still take out the silt without taking out the sand?

The reason I'm looking to lose the least amount of water is at the moment I have the RO line draped across the house from one side to the other and the cats get at it every once in a while :\

I'd rather use as much water as I have now until I can get it in pvc in the ceiling to the fish room.

Does the setup have a sump?

 

[Fourstars]

It will clear, Nothing wrong with fine calcium floating around the tank.

 

[McFly]

I had some sand come with a tiny packet of Clarifier a while back. It was magic; I would recommend if you are in a hurry.

 

[harthag12]

It'll clear, I didn't rinse my sand, let it sit a day or two than threw on the return pump with filter socks in, it was crystal clear by the next morning. Warning the socks will clog up quickly from the fine sand particles, make sure to remove and clean before you flood yourself.

 

[MnFish1]

Make A DIY water polisher - with a soda bottle some floss and a power head - I will clear in no time - periodically stir the sand and keep running it until its clear.

 

[Titleist]

Thanks for the input everyone. I ended up starting the cycle with tims and ammonia. That helped clear up a lot of it and I suspect some skimming or actual bioload and skimming will help get rid of the rest. Interesting was I watched a youtube video of some guy allegedly taking sand right out of the bag and throwing it in a jar with water and there was no residue or cloud. Guess trusting youtube video was the wrong thing to do, because when I started filling my tank I instantly got a floating milk on the surface like some chemical washed off rather than dust.

Now after adding tims and his ammonia I'm waiting a bit, watching my seneye give me incorrect readings for what I should be seeing. That's another issue I sent up to seneye about.

Do have a sump with no rockwork or fuge working at the moment, just bare tank and sump without the skimmer running for a few days to let the bacteria settle if it works.

That polisher's a great idea. I may make one just to have around. Dude was pretty thin back then, assuming that's an older video

 

[ajhudson15]

a lot of people don't rinse the sand. some say its stupid to rinse live sand because you would lose all the "live" stuff that's in the bag with it.

 

[Titleist]

a lot of people don't rinse the sand. some say its stupid to rinse live sand because you would lose all the "live" stuff that's in the bag with it.

Never used live sand before. That's mostly used for the bacteria it's supposed to have yes? If there are other microfauna in it I guess that would get rinsed out probably. I'm in no hurry this time around although I did choose to go rinseless because of a schedule issue between work and home. That'll not be happening again so now the tank sits.

 

[brandon429]

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/t...ead-aka-one-against-many.230281/#post-2681445

Does not remove bacteria, measurably. Even a tap water rinse doesn't

To measure/verify claim

Take some sand rinsed and run it as the filtration media in a test oxidation nano set at 1 ppm

Report ammonia in 24 hours, passes oxidation movement requirements for established bac

 

[dennism]

I used live sand for my start up. I have a canister filter running the filtration until I can upgrade to a sump. It filtered out within 8 hours. I used the carib sea agri alive pink sand

 

[Deiblerj]

I didn’t rinse mine. Just ran my hob filter overnight and it cleared up my morning. You’ll be fine. Just wait it out.

 

[NinnJinn]

When I made that mistake I just rain a filter sock and I believe in about 3 days it was cleared up but now anytime I vacuum the sand I have a cloud storm

 

[cjd]

Run skimmer, filter sock and wait it out.

 

[dlish89]

Im with Ninnjinn. I waited it out for about a week. Filter floss helps but socks and the floss will clog quickly. The problem keeps coming back though everytime I disturb the sand