Sand How To Prepare It?

[fishy55599]

mr courier just arrived with my sand!

what do i do with the sand, do i wash it under the tap or do i just bung it in?
(seffie, this one has shells in like yours aswell

)

 

[fluttermoth]

Put the sand in a bucket and stand it under a tap (outside is better if you have one). Run the water until the bucket is full, stir it up (use warm water or your hands will freeze!) and then pour out the dirty water and light particles of sand.

Then carry on doing that until the water is running totally clear (and then do it a couple more times; better to overwash it before you put it inthe tank than find out afterwarsds that you didn't wash it enough and it's made your tank cloudy)

 

[HappyGeorge]

Well I wash mine out in a pillow case, hang the pillow case off of something fill it with sand and stick a hose in the top and just let it run, either that or just fill a bucket with water and swill the sand about in it. Then into a bucket and take it out in a sieve dip each sieve load in Ro for a rinse and then if your worried about clouding the water pour it down some pipe or a gravel cleaner tube.

 

[fluttermoth]

I've just had a thought; I've noticed this is hte marine section; is this live sand? If it is, I don't think you want to be running it under the tap, but I have no idea about marines and should have kept my mouth shut

 

[jameshughes1989]

Woah, I wouldnt use tap water! I put it in a bucket and then cover with RO water. Swish around to clean as much as you can and drain off. Thats it.

I imagine washing it in tap water would cause all sorts of problems later with Po4 and No3.


HTH

 

[sorgan]

i like mine with a nice mustard dressing on croute.

agree with the tap water BTW, use ro

 

[fishy55599]

i got no ro, but i have read on journal that they did it under the tap. all i got is the tap.

 

[jameshughes1989]

Well if it was me I would hold off until I had some RO. I have read about people washing it in tap water so it absorbs phosphates and nitrates, then slowly releases it back into the water coloumn once the sand is in the tank. There isnt a rush is there?

Cheers

 

[fishy55599]

i have read that the amount of ro compared to tap water from sand wont make a impact.

 

[sorgan]

Well if your happy taking the risk please go ahead although I wouldn't.

 

[fishy55599]

i am happy to do it, as i dont think it will effect anything much. i even calibrate refracometer with tap water. and it is at the right sg. i will be doing it very soon.

 

[sorgan]

Well have fun... I don't think I would want all the extra chlorine, phosphate, nitrite, nitrate, ammonia, silicates, base metals or flouride (well if it's in your area) in my tank. We spend so much time getting them out it seems silly not to wait a bit to avoid putting them in but it's your call.

 

[fishy55599]

if i had ro i probally would, but ive been told only to do water changes once ive got all the live rock in. so i wont have ro for a while, thb it wouldnt make much difference really with 125l of ro, and a lil bit of tap. the levels should all be fine.

 

[jameshughes1989]

i am happy to do it, as i dont think it will effect anything much. i even calibrate refracometer with tap water. and it is at the right sg. i will be doing it very soon.

What has the SG got anything to do with it?

I would strongly advise against this. As Sorgan as said we spend so much time and money on products to remove the nasties we dont want, why would you be happy to add this to your system. You say you have no RO now so wait, I have seen plenty of bare bottom setups so technically you can add sand at anytime (even if it is weeks/months from now).

Also, if you dont have RO to spare, how are you planning on topping up?

I hope I dont sound harsh, I just think you would be making a mistake to go ahead with it which in turn would cause you a lot of headache in the future.

HTH

 

[fishy55599]

topping up-oh forgot that. okay will wait. if i get live rock at the same time i get ro, would that be bad?