drying live sand??

[jadeguppy]

Okay, I was given a salt bucket full of "live" sand that has been sitting in the guys garage for two months and in mine for several weeks. Since we live in nw Florida, I decided it is safer to dry the sand out. The temperature has been over 100 and in the high 90's this summer. I rinsed it with ro water while it was spread out on a sheet in my driveway. Is there anything else I need to do before using it in a tank?

 

[blackheart]

just for the record this is no longer "live sand" the temp has killed everything of of it prob after the third week or so of the temp spike.

Also if you dry it out its def dead.

You need to throw his out as it most likely has tons of dead organic matter in it and will make you tank spike like crazy.

you can keep it if you want but it will just be harder to cure.

my advice is throw it out and get aragalive from your lfs or Dr. Foster and Smith

 

[Dr Begalke]

hey, a little radiator fluid, some motor oil, and a whole bunch of dead stuff never killed any corals!

 

[Aquarist007]

Argonite and live rock are the basis for the filtration of your system. Buy good quality argonite and pay the price--you won't regret it in a year from now if you have to change it out.
One cup of live sand from a friend's tank is all you need to seed the sand--don't waste your money on buying live sand.

 

[vdhillon2]

I actually did the exact same thing...living in phoenix AZ...i purchased some 'live sand' from some. it had a pretty foul order too it. I just washed it out, left it in the phoenix sun for a few days, washed it out again and then placed it in my tank. Like they said, just seed it with some real live stuff and it works great.
good luck

 

[jadeguppy]

I dried it because I assumed everything was dead. Yes, I know dry sand is dead. This is actually a mix of crushed coral. I have another tank that I will be seeding it from. I plan on putting most of this sand in the fuge. It isn't the nice looking pure white, which is one reason it was free. Thanks for the comment vdhillon2. I hoped someone else would comment that has done this. I rinsed it a few times while it was in the sun. I'll give it another good rinse before putting in the tank.

 

[blackheart]

just make sure to get all the organic matter out of it and it should be fine....I guess.

what size is your tank? If its to big to get arag-alive for it then go with the rewashed stuff.

 

[jadeguppy]

If I do buy sand it will be dry since I have a source of live sand to seed it with. The tank will be a 40g long frag tank. The sump compartment that I plan to put most of the crushed coral in is 15 gallons. I'm thrilled that the sand was given to me. I hoped that cleaning it would be similar to drying out live rock. I'd rather spend the $60+ on something other than buffer/ filter sand. I am on a very limited budget. I should mention that I am not concerned with seeding since I will be moving the sand from my existing nano coral tank/ qt into the 40 as well as a bunch of corals and live rock. I have 2 15g tanks fulled with live rock nearly to the top and corals sitting on top of the rock that are being circulated to keep the bacteria alive until the 40 is set up. All of this is why I only asked if there was anything else that I need to do to the sand before using it. I know I have other options, but this is the one I have decided to go with.

 

[blackheart]

you really shouldnt even have sand in a frag tank, it should just be a bare bottom if its a frag tank but you do what you want.

 

[jadeguppy]

It will be going mostly in the fuge. I plan to culture some of the mushrooms and such on some sand. I haven't decided if I will use a small plastic tray for this and leave the rest bare or put a thin layer in the tank. Why do you suggest not having sand in the system for a frag tank? Are you saying that sand should not be in the main tank or should not be anywhere in the system?

 

[Agu]

I've dried and reused sand several times. Once it's dry rinse small batches in RO/DI water stirring thoroughly. The dried organic waste wiil float to the top and the RO/DI will bond with any toxins in the sand (The last part is speculation on my part but it's worked out so far ).

Pour off the rinse water and it's ready to use.

 

[jadeguppy]

Thank you Agu. I wasn't aware that I should pour off the top portion of water. That is exactly what I need to know. Thank you!