I have old sand. Is it ok?

[Anonymous]

More adventures in the return to reefkeeping...

As my wallet reacquaints itself with the various LFS' and online vendors, I recall that my tendency to fritter away money is severely restricted when dealing with reefy items. As I set up this pico, I really have no need for a huge bag of substrate.

I do have this 29AGA. When I took it down, I sorta left the sand in the bottom. It's all crusty. I'm sure organic matter decayed in it. The salt creep is unbelievable.

Could I scrape this sand out and revitalize it somehow?

 

[Anonymous]

sure- I did it on my Nano reef entry- I used the sand that had been in it previously - it was dry and crusty just like you described

 

[Anonymous]

kickass, seabass.

(and hi again nice to see familiar faces)

 

[Tackett]

should be ok. I would rinse it really good in some RO water however.

 

[Anonymous]

I just dump mine in an old cooler stick the hose in the bottom and let it run for an hour or so. I had to dig dried up leaves and spider webs out of the last batch of aragonite I washed. It had sat in a 5 gallon bucket for over a year. No problems.

 

[Len]

With ome thorough rinsing, it might be usuable. Perhaps wash it with hydrogen peroxide to sanitize it. But personally, I'd pony up and get new sand just for peace of mind. I'd hate for you to start off on the wrong foot if the sand has issues.

Hey, welcome back.

 

[Anonymous]

I agree with Len. The only reason I might say it's OK is because it's such small amount. However, I've had issues using old sand, so I generaly don't recommend it.

 

[Anonymous]

damn u guys.

this project is already overbudget and all i did was buy a light, oh and upgrade the tank to a 5.5 (still tiny but workable) and then a filter and ... you see where this is going.

guess i'll play it safe and pick up some new substrate in the mr0n.

 

[Anonymous]

I would sanitize the old sand.