white play sand ?

[iamwrasseman]

i have a big job ahead of me and need a bit of direction .
i have a friend who bought a bar with 2 500 gallon tanks in it and they used very fine white play sand in both tanks . should it all be removed and replaced with argonite ?also there is a 15'x 9' x 2' concrete sump in the basment biult out of concrete blocks and filled with 2000 to 3000 lbs of live rock and this fine white play sand again should the sand be removed ? i also think they used epdm .060 roofing rubber instead of pond liner ,will this create a problem ? the system will start out fish only but he does want corals but easier ones such as leathers and toadstools etc ,big wavy stuff will the sand or rubber create any problems that you know of ? one more question would be what kind of gigantic heaters should be used ?i am thinking that there is close to 2500 gallons in this system and they have 2 200 watt heaters in the sump only and i know that simply wont come close . also the sump is in a basement that seems like it will be pretty cool in the winter and even in the summer .
any input would be great !

 

[dave.m]

You didn't say how long this system was running or in what way it was used before your friend inherited it. What problems, if any, did the previous owners have with it?

The biggest concern with type of sand I know of is that, if it is silica-based sand, any dissolution can provide fuel for the growth of diatoms in the tank. Was this a problem for the previous owners? If so then, yes, the sand should be removed. Otherwise, if the sand is causing no problem, it should not be an issue.

Dave.M

 

[iamwrasseman]

hey Dave ,it was up and running for about a year to my knowledge and they had limited success from what i heard then they just went out of business and had the power shut off and left it full of water .i saw there were bags of the sand left over so i certainly can find out what type of sand it was and read what the contents were . i also can have a water analyst check out the water for standards that the county municipal water authority attempts to attain so we can find out if there is anything obvious in it .there were inverts in it when they shut it down as you can see the shells and claws of some pretty large crabs snails and lobsters etc.
i will get a sample of the water and also the sand and have it tested to see if there is any problems that are toxic related . also the heating issue may have been what the problem as i didn't see any real attempt at keep it up to anywhere near 78 degrees . the tanks have some light emitting on the front of them through curtains and there is some limited algae at the sand level for the first two inches but is is very faint . if they are going to be doing a fish only in the beginning im wondering if they need rodi water as they do have a 300gpd unit but it would obviously be quite slow and expensive to fill with the rodi but i do know thats the best way to go IMO. i have information on the last person keeping care of it so i may be able to get a hold of her and see what the problems were if any . any other concerns that you can think of ?

 

[zaheda]

Some pics would be nice of those monster tanks, and the sumps. Is there any equipment thats left over there?

 

[dave.m]

Well, to say it is "play sand" doesn't really say a lot. Silica is the thing to measure in your water tests. This will cause you no end of trouble with diatoms. You really should be using an arogonite sand for a marine tank, whether reef or FOWLR. The only other thing I can think of with sand is that it may not have been cleaned well, so may contain other pollutants.

Dave.M

 

[Texas]

If it is southdown playsand then it would be ok. I know we don't have it available to us down here but I have heard about it in other parts of the country. Lucky you have a bag left so you can see exactly what you have.
Good Luck,
p

 

[iamwrasseman]

i will have to check the bag and see what it contains .i will have it tested for silica for sure and anything else that they can test for .