white sand

[schmilnik]

Hey guys I am ready to start my tank today and I cant decide if I should go out and buy new white sand or just use the used sand what do you guys think?

 

[melosu58]

I would not use used sand. They have alot of nasties in it and could cause problems in your tank like ammonia problems and excessive nutrients that cause nuisance algeas. I would use new sand and use a cup of the old to seed the new. JMO

 

[schmilnik]

ok I am off to the lfs for new sand. Thanks
oh and I should use a cup of the old? What will this do?

 

[melosu58]

It will transfer some of the micro life that is in your old sand to the new life. It will be enough to seed it so it will grow on it`s own.

 

[Devilishturtles]

I agree. I just went throught this too, and new sand is definitley the way to go! I'm going to toss some of the old sand in the new tank tonight.

 

[Sadielynn]

I agree on replacing it how ever dont throw it away . Rinse it out very well and then dry/bake it to kill off nasties , When you do a water change use that water to rewet it keep it in a dark container to avoid growth of unwanted algeas . I have done this with several of tanks....and never had an issue ... At $30 bucks (low end of the price) a bag I found that it works to rinse it very very well and dry it then rewet it to give you "new live" sand ... Baking it or drying it kills off anything that is not desirable (actually it kills everything) but it gives you a fresh set of sand to use in the future should you need to change out your tank. I have also used all my old sand when transferring tanks but also did a 50% water change and rand extra filters for a day or two to help remove anything bad , I rinsed the filters hourly the first day and daily after that then changed them weekly , then when it was all settled down and my tests continued to run 0 I went back to monthly changing and weekly rinsing

 

[Ziggy953]

When I did my tank move a couple of weeks ago I ran extra filters and did PWCs almost every day just to make sure as not to cause a problem....better safe then sorry.....