Cleaning new sand

[drm180]

Hi. How clean do you have to get sand before putting it into your tank. I have aragonite sand and have rinsed it about 10 times in a bucket but the water is still milky. How long does it usually take or is there a better method to cleaning than I am doing?

 

[mng777777]

I do just like you, sand in bucket with running water, stirring and mixing until water comes out clean. It takes a while, but you will see when the water is only cloudy from sand vs. the funk that you are trying to rinse out. the less sand you clean at once, the easier and quicker it will go so try scooping small amounts into your rinsing bucket rather than trying to clean the whole batch at once.

 

[XxKnuckleheadxX]

is it new sand? or been in the tank already?

 

[Bifferwine]

I don't think you'll ever be able to get it completely clear! At least, I never have been able to... :grumble: Just do the best you can, and don't sweat it. It's not going to hurt anything if the water's cloudy for a day or two after adding the sand.

 

[drm180]

Yeah it is new. Okay, I'm not going to worry about it. Can I go ahead and run my HOB filter or should I wait until the water clears. It is really cloudy but I think all the sand is settled.

 

[mng777777]

You can go ahead and start your filter up, it will help to clear up the water. You will just need to clean the media real good after the water clears.

 

[drm180]

Okay. Thanks a lot everyone.

 

[wontonflip]

I spent a couple of hours sifting, draining, sifting, draining...sifting, draining :) It's WELL worth it! I put it in my 125g, and now, even when the sand gets disturbed, it doesn't cloud up at all. And besides...it's a good natural exfoliator :) My hands were smooth after that!

 

[XxKnuckleheadxX]

ive never washed new sand.