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View Full Version : Why it's important to Soak your Aragonite Sand - UPDATE

simplycoral
11-30-2009, 08:21 PM
So i am getting things ready for my upcoming tank transfer and thought i would share with everyone why i think it's important to soak your (DRY) Aragonite Sand for at least 7 days before placing it in the tank...

I know a lot of new hobbyists often just place the sand straight into the tank and most only rinse it over the once; but most of the commercial sand available has a very high concentration of Phosphate bound up in the particles which is released into the new environment :neutral: not the best start, in our aquatic journey as this often contributes to unnecessary algae growth in the early stages.

I am adding this sand to an established environment where i try to maintain only trace elements of phosphates. Imagine what this level of phosphate would have done for my reef.

And for those that are interested in Silicates! i measured the first soak at 0.25ppm fairly low but not zero as the bag suggests....

Simon.


The Substrate

http://i871.photobucket.com/albums/ab272/simplycoral/DSCF1391.jpg

Into a clean Container

http://i871.photobucket.com/albums/ab272/simplycoral/DSCF1392.jpg

Add fresh R/O Water

http://i871.photobucket.com/albums/ab272/simplycoral/DSCF1393.jpg

Which has no trace of Phosphate.

http://i871.photobucket.com/albums/ab272/simplycoral/DSCF1395.jpg

And this is the end result! 0.5ppm of Phosphate

http://i871.photobucket.com/albums/ab272/simplycoral/DSCF1396.jpg
lobsterboy
11-30-2009, 08:57 PM
nice work Simon
whatcaneyedo
11-30-2009, 09:01 PM
Wow that could have saved me some grief... 4 years ago. Better late than never I guess! Thanks for the information.
Keri
11-30-2009, 09:10 PM
Excellent post :)

Just to clarify this is for the DRY sand, not the Live, right? ;) (Just to make sure new people know the difference, soaking your live sand in RO water with no salt will surely kill it)
Delphinus
11-30-2009, 09:22 PM
Great post!
simplycoral
11-30-2009, 09:25 PM
Excellent post :)

Just to clarify this is for the DRY sand, not the Live, right? ;) (Just to make sure new people know the difference, soaking your live sand in RO water with no salt will surely kill it)

Hi,

Yes the DRY Sand. Would be interested to see the result's from the live sand, if anyone has a new bag they would like to test..:question: I wonder if it would be the same?

Simon
simplycoral
11-30-2009, 09:27 PM
nice work Simon


Wow that could have saved me some grief... 4 years ago. Better late than never I guess! Thanks for the information.

Great post!


Thanks. Certainly an eye opener :surprise:

Makes me wonder if i do enough testing on everything else that makes it's way into the aquarium....
the marine apprentice
11-30-2009, 09:44 PM
good work simon. im starting another tank soon and i will be doing that to my new sand
globaldesigns
11-30-2009, 10:07 PM
Ooops, I never rinsed it, oh well, worked ok for me... Tank is in great shape.

Not saying that you shouldn't, but I can honestly say I didn't think of it. But now looking at this thread, in future I will wash all sand.
muck
11-30-2009, 10:44 PM
Simon says... "Rinse your sand people!!"


Great post Simon.
robert
11-30-2009, 11:07 PM
Simon - what test did you use to measure phosphates?

Thanks.
-Robert
Funky_Fish14
11-30-2009, 11:48 PM
Live sand is not live... its a terrible rip-off. A 'sealed container' with no nutrients for the bacteria to live off, without an expiry date? Come-on now.... a 1" piece of live rock has more bacteria on it than an entire bag of 'live sand'.

A bag of 'live' sand would probably test lower though as the sand must have been rinse already?
simplycoral
12-01-2009, 01:04 AM
Simon - what test did you use to measure phosphates?

Thanks.
-Robert


Hi,

It was a Red Sea Phosphate Test.

Regards, Simon..
simplycoral
12-01-2009, 01:17 AM
Live sand is not live... its a terrible rip-off. A 'sealed container' with no nutrients for the bacteria to live off, without an expiry date? Come-on now.... a 1" piece of live rock has more bacteria on it than an entire bag of 'live sand'.

A bag of 'live' sand would probably test lower though as the sand must have been rinse already?

I imagine that the micro organisms would be able to survive for quite a while in the sealed bags but agree there should be an expiry date.

I would be interested to see if any traces of Phosphate are present and Nitrates for that matter..

S.
Myka
12-01-2009, 02:00 AM
Wow, I didn't know it was that bad! Thanks for posting the test results! It's this very reason that I "wash" my sand very, very well before using it. I never thought of checking the phosphate with a test kit. Good call.
PoonTang
12-01-2009, 02:21 AM
I rinsed out my last bag that i bought and found a piece of driftwood and a hunk of used bubble gum. yuck :(
Funky_Fish14
12-01-2009, 05:28 AM
Wtf??? A chunk of used bubble gum? Now thats riduculous! I've found driftwood before, lol, I think its weird... but used gum? Stupid people...
simplycoral
12-01-2009, 03:26 PM
I shall have a look through mine to see if i can find any gold coins :smile::smile: :Banane44:

S.
simplycoral
12-01-2009, 10:14 PM
Update...

After 24hrs of Soaking the Phosphates are 0.2 ppm

http://i871.photobucket.com/albums/ab272/simplycoral/DSCF1400.jpg
Delphinus
12-01-2009, 10:40 PM
How often are you replacing the RO/DI it's soaking in?
simplycoral
12-01-2009, 11:03 PM
Every 24 Hrs I will test the water it has been soaking in and then change the R/O water and leave for another 24hrs to soak.

It maybe quicker to keep rinsing the substrate every few hours; but i don't plan on adding it to the tank for a while so thought i would take my time :smile:

Plus the ALK is reading way above 30dkh and i was interested to see how quickly this would drop.

By no means a scientific experiment though :redface:

S.