Can i use bucket of sand that i stored 4 years ago?

[ant81]

i wanted to know if i can use my old sand that i had in my 55g saltwater 4 years ago? when i switched to 75g tank i had bought new sand to put in it and seeded it with a bit of my sand from my 55g. the rest of the sand from my 55g i had completely rinsed it with freshwater over and over and over until it was clean and stored it into a bucket.

i wanted to know now 4 years later if i can take that sand and add it to my 75g or will it affect something in my 75g?

 

[BossHoggin]

cant see why not if it was thoroughly cleaned and put away dry. Add the sand in increments, make sure to stir it as you add so you dont choke out the existing life in your established sand bed.

 

[triton_uk]

You may still find the bottom of the bucket is black, anoxic and smalls bad because it pretty difficult to get sand really clean.

It may be worth bleaching the sand to remove any organics before you put it in your new tank, try and use pure bleach (NaOCl with no additives). Make sure the bleach is well rinsed off and the sand dried before putting it back in the tank.

 

[Ron Reefman]

Just stick a hose down to the bottom of the bucket and flush it again until the overflow water runs clean. Then drain the fresh water out as best you can.