Re-using / washing sand bed

[copenhagen_cowboy@live.co]

I know this is a touchy subject but I was hoping to hear from some people who have tried it and to hear how it worked out for them In The end.

I am upgrading to a larger tank and am hoping to re use my Hawaiian black sand because I already spent way to much on it. My tank has been setup for a year with a 3-4" deep sand bed. I am switching to a shallow bed on the new tank.

I have read a few different procedures for washing and drying the sand. Some of these include rinsing with bleach water, then rinsing with tap water conditioner , then rinsing with ro water. Some people dry it out and some people bake it in the oven

What process have you used?
Did you have issues after you set it back up?
Did you have any issues long term?

[Default]

Ive just rinsed about 95% of the sand with tap water then RODI in a giant seive let it dry and added it back with the 5% as a seed stock.

[copenhagen_cowboy@live.co]

Ive just rinsed about 95% of the sand with tap water then RODI in a giant seive let it dry and added it back with the 5% as a seed stock.



Have you had any issues with algae or spikes in any other levels in the months after? I have read that if you don't get it clean enough 7-9 months later is when you will notice the balance crashing.


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[Default]

I did have a nitrate spike out of the blue at about 9 months. It went to 15ppm in a week and took six 50% water changes to get back down to 0.2.
It could have been caused by the sand now that I think about it.
I think most of the bad stuff is in the sediment that is rinsed out. If I did it again I would buy new sand the smell is awful I was gagging while scooping and rinsing.

[copenhagen_cowboy@live.co]

Thanks. I'm really starting to lean towards new sand. I really like the dark black substrate but it is double the cost and I already have more than enough.I would still like to hear from more people.


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[SpongeAl]

Look at it under a magnifying lens, if it doesn't seem porous then you should be fine to reuse it.

You could dry tumble it for a while to abrade off the outer surface, then rinse it if you want.

Otherwise if you consider that the sand has probably been outside for quite some time before you acquired it, there is little to worry about.

If it is porous, then sure, i could see it holding onto detrius to some degree. If that was the case then I'm not sure how I would clean it. This could be more risky as it may hold onto the chemicals you try and clean it with. Heat and/or acid might work here.

Hopefully you find that you are in the first camp and the sand is like small glass. Vinegar would be my preference to wash with though, if the sand is solid, I don't think its necessary to risk using bleach, a bit of vinegar residue is not going to hurt anything.

[copenhagen_cowboy@live.co]

It's still in my currant running tank but it is a black volcanic rock sand so I imagine it is going to be quite porous


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[MitchM]

Hey neighbour,
If you're talking about black sand that is made up of basalt, just rinsing should be fine, providing the sand has not sat in a lot of detritus over the years.
If you have a calcium carbonate based sand, then it would have adsorbed phosphate over the years and should be thrown out.
Research which material your sand is made up of to be sure.

As with any aquarium that has a substrate bottom, you will need to have a more aggressive approach to filtration.