I've got a 3 chamber sump with a center return that my fuge feeds into. I purchased some sugar fine sand that I want to use to create a dsb in the fuge. How well does the sugar fine stuff need to be rinsed? Ive never used it before so i dont know what to expect. I was planning on rinsing it and then taking the fuge offline for a couple days while whatever's left settles before turning it back on. Any suggestions are appreciated as im trying not to create a dust cloud for all the livestock. Thanks.
Rinsing sugar fine sand
- Thread starter motoxmann
- Start date
Reefahholic
New member
I would rinse it very well. Did mine in 5/g buckets.
dogstar74
Premium Member
I rinsed mine in a gallon ziplock bag. I would fill it half full of sand, and run a hose into the bag. Then shake like crazy and pop one end of the zipper, then express out the cloudy water. After a couple of rinses you can just put the hose down in the bag and flush it out. Works pretty good. You'll never get it all, but it's worth a try. The thing that really settles down a sand bed, is a biofilm that grows on the particles. So the cloud, while unavoidable, is temporary.
Good luck
Aaron
Good luck
Aaron
Dr Colliebreath
New member
I did mine in a 5 gallon bucket. This time around I rinsed my sand with ro/di water to keep any contaminants from hose water out. A lot of work, but worth it in my opinion. I just rinsed it 2-3 times, and you can filter anything extra (some dust) that gets in the tank.
If there is water in the sump, you will have a 24-48 hour sand storm no matter what. You are on the right track by planning to cut your pumps off to limit how it spreads.
If there is water in the sump, you will have a 24-48 hour sand storm no matter what. You are on the right track by planning to cut your pumps off to limit how it spreads.
That was going to be my other question. Is it ok to use tap water to rinse the sand? Im in an apartment so I don't have access to a hose, but could just use water from the sink or the shower. When I set the tank up, I rinsed the sand for my DT using tap water to get most of the stuff out, then gave it a rinse in Rodi before it went into the tank, but there was no livestock in the tank at the time. Will a mild sandstorm affect the livestock in the tank? Just a few sps frag, acans, my btas and the fish right now.
Angel*Fish
cats and large squashes
If you're going to rinse the sand for a dsb, make sure you retain the fine particles, you don't want to lose them. For a dsb, it's pretty common not to rinse it at all.
