new sand to rinse or not to rinse?

[cap1956]

I have a 6 year old 140 gallon tank with 6-8 inches of very white fine arroganite sand. I didn't rinse it before setup. The problem now is between my increase currents from koralias and a maroon clown that fans the sand into huge clouds, my water is cloudy. I run a skimmer and a filter sock, I've even used a diatom filter and it helped until the clown stirs it up again.

I'm moving to a 180 soon, and I will have all new sand ( same fine sand but unused) for my DSB. Should I rinse the sand first this time? will it help? Is city water OK or would well water be preferred?

[barbra]

Definitely rinse it well. You can use plain water if you like, I did with no ill affects. I can't speak to the well water because I have no idea how it compares to city tap.

[kcjefff]

definitely rinse. I rinse mine a ton to avoid cloudiness. You will still have some cloudiness until the tank matures. Tap is fine, just try to drain as much out before adding to the tank. I take a 5g bucket and add about 6 plastic cupfuls of sand, then fill the bucket and stir (VIGOROUSLY), drain. I do that about 6-8 times per 6 cups or until the water stays clear when stirring.

[nsreefer]

If you are running a dsb don't rinse. All those fine particles you are rinsing out would greatly add to the biological surface area of the sand bed. Here is a good way to setup the tank without clouding it up too much.
http://archive.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=522147&perpage=25&pagenumber=2

[thrillreefer]

I agree with nsreefer. Your 6-year-old tank probably has a nice accumulation of silt and detritus that is being stirred up, and not really the sand that is a problem. In a new tank, you will get a cloud for a day or two, but once you filter out the suspended stuff or let it settle, it will add a good amount of surface area. You certainly want as much surface as possible, especially in the bottom layers of the sand. I have never rinsed aragonite sand before adding, and never had much of a cloudiness beyond the initial setup and right after a big water change or rearrangement

[nyvp]

add + 1 for rinse

[Froggy]

I am of the do not rinse club. It was my understanding that the fine particles are an important part of the deep sand bed and play a vital role in its effectiveness.

[Fiziksgeek]

I'll go down the middle and say rinse a little, haha. Put in it a bucket and hit it with the hose a dump out the water a couple times.

[pony_killer]

Its advised not to rinse live sand right out of the bag, but its not going to hurt your tank if you do rinse. i personally rinsed my sand right out of the bag because i to did not want cloudy water...but i think when i upgrade to the 90 gal im going to try the method of the trash bags, plates, and bowls technique and see what the benefits are of not rinsing out your sand.

[cap1956]

WOW There doesn't seem to be a definite answer. My existing and new sand for the new tank is extremely fine sugar sand. I've seen course sand in bags that probably wouldn't benefit from a rinse, but this is so fine that once stirred up it remains in the water column and clouds the water.
thank you for your inputs.

[dc]

I say don't rinse either. Maroons are pains. Doesn't matter if you rinse or not they'll kick up something. :D

http://images105.fotki.com/v460/photos/2/28482/1806483/DSC04461_Clownfishfanning-vi.jpg

[dc]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10179254#post10179254 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by cap1956
WOW There doesn't seem to be a definite answer. My existing and new sand for the new tank is extremely fine sugar sand. I've seen course sand in bags that probably wouldn't benefit from a rinse, but this is so fine that once stirred up it remains in the water column and clouds the water.
thank you for your inputs.

LOL, probably not. Everyone does seem to have a different opinion. I know if my Maroon kicks up too much I put quilt batting(filter floss) in the overflow to clean it up a bit.

[AZDesertRat]

Don't rinse. The fines are what supports the best life in a fully functioning DSB.

[MikeP471612]

I'll throw in a post here, maybe it will help both of us. I used 200 lbs of fine sand in my 190g tank (set up about 6 weeks ago) and I did not rinse. My water was cloudy for a few days after but then settled (used the garbage bag trick). A few weeks later I added some clean up crew and pretty much ever since then my tank is always a bit cloudy, some days worse than others. I put on a filter sock and that helped a bit, I'm running a sump/fuge and a super skimmer 220. For flow my drain/return is about 600 gph and I run a Seio 1500. If your tank is similar to mine you might have the same problem and it's driving me nuts! Can someone comment on my setup and tell me if there is something more I can do. That would help me out and hopefully help cap1956 out too.

Thanks

[AZDesertRat]

Once the bacteria coats the sand it will settle like a rock. Cups of donated live sand from friends tanks really gave my system a jump start in the beginning. I have a 100G with 330 lbs of Southdown sugar sized sand, an Oceanrunner 3500 return at somewhere around 750 GPH, a closed loop with another Oceanrunner 3500 at close to 1000 GPH and two Koralia 4s at 1200 GPH each and have no problems at all. If a fish stirs things up its back to normal in a matter of 5 minutes or less. It just takes time.