Clean or replace sand?

[maroun.c]

Hi,
Will be either upgrading or redoinig my tank in the coming month as it's been for 2 years with minimal maintenance.
If I don't get a newer tank everything will go out to have the tank drilled and placed on a new stand with sump refug...
do you think I should get rid of the existing sand and start with new sand or just wash it in saltwater to get rid of all the bad stuff in it?
I don't like to go BB as i prefer the view of a sandbed or a DSB in the tank.
If I should start with new sand anyway to preserve some of the life in the older sand bed?
Thanks for your help.

[tkeracer619]

I rinsed all of my sand with a mild bleach solution and let it air dry. Just like new and a heck of a lot cheaper.

[jcpatella]

I'll be upgrading my setup within the next year, so I've thought about this myself. Why waste tons of good sand? My plan:

1) Save a cup or two of the current sand in a ziplock bag.
2) Remove the rest, rinse the heck out of it, let it dry.
3) Put it back in new tank and seed with the sand from the ziplock bag.

[davocean]

I've heard that rinsing sand in tap pulls phosphates into sand, so if you rinse I'd use RO water.
I personally would replace the sand if it's 2yrs old, as it will be bound w/ phos and other crud.
Seed w/ a few handfuls of the old.

[tkeracer619]

I havent had any trouble from my rinsed sand. I didn't use RO but i did run it though the filter blocks to get the larger stuff out.

Granted I used bleach in the water so anything organic was no more. I wouldn't do it any other way.