View Full Version : Rinsing sand?
kenyacat
06/03/2008, 12:21 PM
Can I rinse my sand for up 75 gallon upgrade with tap water? I have to buy my RO water by the gallon and I have about 81 gallons of water sitting here, but I do not want to use it because I have no idea how much the sump is going to take.
Will it hurt anything to use tap to rinse?
crsswift70
06/03/2008, 12:35 PM
I saw another thread on this and they rinsed their sand in tap water with no apparent after effects. I hope that's the case, because i just did mine :)
kenyacat
06/03/2008, 01:18 PM
Good, I have a good 90 lbs of sand here and not sure how much water it is going to take to rinse it.
jefathome
06/03/2008, 01:27 PM
Rinsing with Tap will kill all the bacteria etc that makes it "live".
I did mine when i first started. Everything was fine. Yes it will kill any bacteria and any other parisites live in the sand. But if you have bacteria living on the rocks already you should be fine.
rjsilvers
06/03/2008, 01:55 PM
Rinsing in RO water is also going to kill the bacteria..... So you might as well go for cheaper tap water.
I rinsed my 250lbs of sand in tap water. Tank seems to be doing fine.
KingRicky
06/03/2008, 02:34 PM
I rinsed mine in the water I used to cure my rock.
AZDesertRat
06/03/2008, 03:04 PM
If you are wanting a functioning deep sand bed (DSB) don't rinse it at all, you want the fines as it supports lots of colonizing bacteria you will want and need. If you are doing a decorative shallow sand bed then rinsing with tap water is fine.
kenyacat
06/04/2008, 03:50 AM
It is dead sand. Once I rinse and set up in tank it will sit for a week while we make sure all the flow and plumbing are working. Next week, I will seed from my old sand bed and move the livestock.
Thanks for all the help.
moo0o
06/04/2008, 04:52 AM
i rinsed mine with tap water, of course like azdesertrat said its only for decor so yeah..
abulgin
06/04/2008, 06:04 AM
I have always rinsed my substrate in tap water. as anyone knows, it takes about 4 million gallons to rinse sand before it runs clear (and I use that term loosely). I would always rinse sand, even the dubiously-named "live sand" (someday someone will bring an action against these people for unfair/deceptive trade practices)--the dust that you remove will save you hours of aggravation and keep your tank from looking like Mid-West America in the 1930's.
AZDesertRat
06/04/2008, 08:36 AM
The "dust" as you call it is a very important part of the deep sand bed. Don't rinse it out. Yes you will have a milk shake for a few days but its worth it in the end. Read any of Dr. Ron Schimeks articles, he will say the same and he is the guru of deep sand beds.
Aidan
06/04/2008, 09:20 AM
You dont rinse Live or wet sand you kill all the bacteria. I would just let the dry stuff settle over time.
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