to Rinse, or Not to Rinse, new Live Sand?

[jmichaelh7]

I have a 9 mo old tank. I want to add 20lb bag of live sand.

I've read numerous posts on adding live sand and not washing it because it's LIVE.

i also read to wash it thoroughly until it runs 100% Clear.

What's the best way to go about this without having a clouded tank, with a nitrate spike

 

[lucky7]

If you don’t want cloudy water you’ll need to rinse it

 

[fishface NJ]

rinse it until it runs clear if it live or dry sand. Then rinse in RO water

 

[jmichaelh7]

That’s what I’ll probably do. Use a PVC pipe to drop it in ?

 

[brandon429]

after rinse it wont matter

but, we gotta rinse the old.

don't cap off waste w new sand.

Official Sand Rinse and Tank Transfer thread

I am fairly worried about moving my freshwater setup as it is fairly overstocked (reduces aggression as no one fish gets singled out). I did fail to think about the toxicity of nitrite on top of ammonia toxicity... Here is my plan for the cichlid tank. I have gradually reduced my pH from 8.2 to...

www.reef2reef.com

its ok to cap it off if you want, but above we see that cleaner is best.

 

[arking_mark]

If you're looking to add the "alive" portion of the sand then don't rinse it. If you are planning on rinsing it, just buy cheaper dry sand. If you have a mature tank, there are better products to increase your biodiversity.

 

[fishface NJ]

That’s what I’ll probably do. Use a PVC pipe to drop it in ?

yes

 

[JumboShrimp]

https://www.reef2reef.com/attachments/183183e1-146b-4db3-a5d9-91a6226c9e7d-jpeg.1906467/

Use one of these, and slosh it back and forth. Repeat the process about 20 times (no joke) with small batches of sand at a time, and you won’t have a cloudy tank for 4 days. Lol.

 

[brandon429]

especially if you buy the alive kind of sand, rinse it per the six year running thread. or risk this

Add new sand without rinse
Hi guy, I just add new special grade sand without rinse. I added slowly 1/3 bag per day, but didn’t rinse. My tank seem cloudy, but I have skimmer and 2 filter socks. My tank has sps, lps and 9 fishes. Should I expect a mini cycle. I concern my coral and fish die tomorrow

www.reef2reef.com
https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/so-i-didnt-rinse.592624/
https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/sandbed-stirred-up.544852/#post-5723606

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/very-cloudy-water-after-sand-and-rock.559386/#post-5735864
https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/question-about-vacuuming-sand-bed.616059/ https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/new-tank-milky-cloudy.616519/


From page one of the thread, those were the skipped rinse crew.


Notice when you buy live sand in a bag, it has no worms. Crabs. Snails,

rinsing grains of sand has never been antibiotic, it's why we must use bathroom cleaner to clean a bathroom and simply rubbing in tapwater wont work.

tap water is a sterilizer only on reef boards