i use old sand often and the biggest problem i have found is silt... i just run a hang on filter with a sponge that seems to do the trick... just stir the sand a bit once in a while to raise the silt...
And you've never had gas buld up in the sand after the fact?
Terrible, unexplainable algae break outs or nasty Cyano?
Come on...lol
Live sands filtrations capacity is not infinite.