Can i clean sand with bleach?

[leicobra]

Hi, guys I am planning on set up a new system, I have a bucket of sand that was used in my old tank, can I clean them with bleach then rise them with RO? Only reason is the sand is got a cyano prob, hope the bleach with kill it off. Thanks ahead of time for any advice!

[klwheat]

If you're planning to use it in a tank again.....ever....then I would definitely recommend against bleach! Just let it dry completely...the cyano will die...then rinse

[shifty51008]

http://www.melevsreef.com/rinsing_sand.html

there is a way to rinse sand.

[bnumair]

i agree, bleach can be used but traces will make it back and why take a chance. rinse it out spread it and dry it out and rinse again with ro/di water and use.

[disc1]

You can bleach the sand as long as you spread it out and let the chlorine evaporate after copious rinsing.

But it isn't going to solve the cyano problem. It will just sterilize the sand. You can't avoid cyanobacteria getting into a tank. You just have to keep up with good husbandry and keep it from overgrowing you.

[leicobra]

http://www.melevsreef.com/rinsing_sand.html

there is a way to rinse sand.

This page says that it should be done every six month, dose this mean you need to rinse your sand bed every six month? Sorry I am new to this.

[leicobra]

You can bleach the sand as long as you spread it out and let the chlorine evaporate after copious rinsing.

But it isn't going to solve the cyano problem. It will just sterilize the sand. You can't avoid cyanobacteria getting into a tank. You just have to keep up with good husbandry and keep it from overgrowing you.

Do I need to re-rinse it after drying?

[EllieSuz]

I have done this with success. I soaked the sand in a bucket in a mild bleach solution, rinsed it well with tap water and spread it out on a tarp in the sun until it was absolutely, completely bone dry. Then I gave it a good soaking in freshly made saltwater and put it back in my tank. It's a chancy process, really. It doesn't take much bleach to kill everything in your system. I got away with it, but I don't know that I would try it again.

[MikeYQM]

I've done it regularly.

Soak for 24 hours in mild bleach solution, then I soak in RO water with a lot of dechlorinator for 24 hours then drain & repeat. I do this 2-3 times stirring regularly. When I rinse I try to flush the crap out too so it's really Soak in bleach, rinse 5-6 times quickly, soak in dechlorinator, rinse 5-6 times, another 1 or 2 dechlorinator soaks & rinses then let it dry.

[bnumair]

if left to dry bleach will evaporate out of the sand, give it a second rinse and dry just to make sure.

[ebacon]

You're better off figuring out why you have the cyno and treat the clause not the symptom