How many of you have reused sand when upgrading tanks ? Everything I have read seems to say that as long as you give it a good rinse you should be ok. Will I have issues if I wash it with a garden hose in bucket and let it dry ? Maybe a quick final rinse with RO water ?? Going from a 38g to 70g
Reusing Sand
- Thread starter camps23
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heath
Distinguished Member
- Joined
- Oct 2, 2012
- Location
- Woodstock, Ontario
I have re-used mine, I put it in small buckets and rinse it really well. Did you have any unwanted pest in the tank before, that will help with your decision..
Kevin Tran
Super Active Member
- Joined
- May 22, 2014
- Location
- Breslau, Ontario
This will be ok if it dry sand, but if it is live sand I would rinse it in saltwater and reuse it. Heck don't forget to use most of your old water too.
P.s is this consider as a tank transfer or a fresh start, if it a tank transfer than you can use most to all of what is in your 38g.
I have reused mine before. I normally scoop off the top layer an inch down and set it aside with an air stone in a bucket. I put it in last when I have added all the other sand. I don't wash the top layer but I do on the rest. That top layer will inoculate the rest of the sand in a few weeks and gives you a major jump start on the micro fauna and bacteria.
When I switched over to my current setup I moved over half of what I had to the new tank. You do have to rinse it very well to get all the junk out. Normal water is fine to rinse with. I like to take small amounts, say about 6 inches into a bucket and fill up with water half way and use my hand to really scoop and turn over the substrate. I will dump the water out a few times and fill it back up. As a side note you will never get the water running clear so don't bother. The difference in PH breaks down the calcium in the substrate and will cloud the water. Judge by color of the water. If it is a darker yellow like organics it is not clean. If it is a whitish with a little color it is fine. Then move onto the next batch. To much sand in the bucket will not let you clean properly, flip side to little will take you forever to clean.
Washing sand does have prows and cons. Pro is you get an established micro fauna quickly and have an active bacteria population and you save money. Con any issues you had in the previous tank can be brought over. Some people like to start with new sand and some don't. It is really personal preference.
When I switched over to my current setup I moved over half of what I had to the new tank. You do have to rinse it very well to get all the junk out. Normal water is fine to rinse with. I like to take small amounts, say about 6 inches into a bucket and fill up with water half way and use my hand to really scoop and turn over the substrate. I will dump the water out a few times and fill it back up. As a side note you will never get the water running clear so don't bother. The difference in PH breaks down the calcium in the substrate and will cloud the water. Judge by color of the water. If it is a darker yellow like organics it is not clean. If it is a whitish with a little color it is fine. Then move onto the next batch. To much sand in the bucket will not let you clean properly, flip side to little will take you forever to clean.
Washing sand does have prows and cons. Pro is you get an established micro fauna quickly and have an active bacteria population and you save money. Con any issues you had in the previous tank can be brought over. Some people like to start with new sand and some don't. It is really personal preference.
heath
Distinguished Member
- Joined
- Oct 2, 2012
- Location
- Woodstock, Ontario
for sure, don't use the previous owners sand/substrate..you will no doubt have to buy new with the bigger tank. rinse the new stuff really well to get the dust off of it..