can i do this???

[bigford84]

i am about to but a 55 gal saltwater tank with live sand, but it could end up sitting for a month b4 i set it up.. can i just store it?? the sand will just die and when i go to set it up i can just rinse the sand and start cycle over?? its only 100.00 bucks for the 55 gal tank,stand,and 4ft compact lighting,so i dont want to pass it up.. should i get it?

 

[Innovator]

Yes, you can store sand in buckets and rinse before adding to the tank. I would get some window screening and attach to either a wooden frame, plastic milk crating, etc. and use that to rinse the sand with.

 

[cmor1701d]

If you are buying an existing tank you are better off dumping the sand and buying new sand when you are ready to set up. Old sand accumulates heavy metals and generally get's quite nasty.

If you completely dry it out, rinse it, etc. you should be able to re-use it, but why? Sand doesn't cost that much to get new dry sand.

 

[melosu58]

I agree. I would chuck the sand. Sand is quite cheap compared to all the problems that come with used sand.

 

[Innovator]

I respectfully disagree. I have reused sand over and over for many years and not once had a problem resulting from it. We do the same at work, one 3000g that had over 10yrs of compacted sand, rinsed, reused, and running again without a hitch. As long as you thoroughly clean it, its worth your time, less of course its been expoosed to medications. Just because sand is cheaper than other componants doesn't mean it is cheap (cost-wise) either