Urgent question

Beth J · #1 01/06/2008, 11:24 PM

I have an urgent newbie question. I just bought a 135 gal tank and the gentleman was kind enough to deliver the tank to me tonight. Bless his heart even though he still was dealing with bad issues on his new tank. He did not completely clean out the sand out of the bottom of the tank. There is also a bit of water left in there. We have to leave the tank off of the stand for at least a day maybe longer because we have to get rid of some screws sticking out of the bottom of the stand. The screws are scratching the floor.

So I need to know what do with the sand and water. Is the sand worth saving? Is there any way to save it as living sand since it has been only partly wet for several hours? If it is dead can I save it to put back in the tank later to become part of my sand bed? There are some snails and worms of some kind all curled up. Should I go first thing in the am to get a heater and bubbler of some kind at pet smart down the road?

I am afraid it is really going to stink by am. It smells like the ocean right now.

There is some green algae stuff around and in the overflow box. There is plenty of colored coraline algae on the back. How much do I need to clean off and how? Should I make it sparkly clean?

mnestroy · #2 01/06/2008, 11:43 PM

Depends on when the sand was last used... if its been sitting around for a few weeks then its not gona matter either way.

I would grab what you can and dump the sand and water into buckets.

Its gona stink no matter what u do

Until somebody with more experience comments, if u had extra salt water add some with that... or put enough saltwater in tank to cover sand at least..

Beth J · #3 01/06/2008, 11:50 PM

The tank was only emptied today sometime. They got as much water out of tank as they could with a pump so there is not enough to scoop out even with a flat cup. I have scooped up the sand and put it in a trash bag lined bucket. I can't get any salt water until tomorrow at the earliest. There is probably at least 20-30 lbs of sand in my bucket. Seems like it would be worth saving but as what.

dohc97 · #4 01/06/2008, 11:59 PM

is the sand still covered? you need to have enough water and you can keep it alive by adding a heater and some type of power head for circulation. If your going to be cycling a tank you might be better off just rinsing this sand out and cleaning it out good and then drying it out. You can add it when you get the lr so you can cycle both together. Im sure plenty of reefers around you would be willing to donate some seed sand once you get the tank up and cycling. Good to see new people in this hobby

mnestroy · #5 01/06/2008, 11:59 PM

Dead or alive the sand will still be usable...not that huge of a deal if u ask me

GrandeGixxer · #6 01/07/2008, 12:00 AM

Either way, I would at least rinse the sand very good with tap and then with RO/DI water. Then you can do whatever you want with it because it is dead. Since the sandbed has been disturbed now, the layers of it have been moved and it is going to go through a cycle no matter what you do. Most of that old nasty crap is stuff you probably don't want to go into your new tank. After you get the tank back up and cycling, then get a cup of sand from a few of us to re-establish your sand with critters and such. Good luck with setting up the new tank and congrats. The 135 is a great size!

ostrow · #7 01/07/2008, 09:50 AM

I still want to konw what the heck screws are doing sticking out the bottom of the tank. This makes no sense to me... Sounds iffy.

beester15 · #8 01/07/2008, 10:38 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Beth J
we have to get rid of some screws sticking out of the bottom of the stand.

hebygb · #9 01/07/2008, 12:53 PM

I agree with the above assessments. Besides, 1 bucket of sand is not going to be enough for a 135. It is still usable as substrate after rinsing with RO/DI water. No matter what, your tank will need to cycle. I disagree with using tapwater ever in a SW setup, even if just rinsing the sand. There are all sorts of phosphates in there that will only create a huge algae bloom in a cycling tank.

The screw thing is puzzeling but yet, I am never surprised by anything in this hobby. Good luck with your setup and ... take your time ... and go even more slower than that.

pescadero · #10 01/07/2008, 01:14 PM

Congrats on the new tank purchase. If the tank is the one I'm thinking of, I had to pass on it because it was just too big for my living room.

I would recommend starting at square one with your new tank. Even though the previous setup was healthy, your sand has been subjected to transport, lack of water flow and aeration, and you're going to have significant die-off of any life that was in the sand. Now that its in a bucket, whatever is in the sand is going to be dead and you'll have to clean it.

As GG previously mentioned, your tank will re-cycle, so you might as well start off by giving it a good cleaning.

If the tank were mine, I would put the sand/water in buckets and give the tank a thorough cleaning with vinegar water and a good rinse-out afterward. I'd also give the sand a good rinse out until it is clear. You're going to have to do this, as when you dig that sand out of the bucket you have it stored in, you're going to find that it has an awful stench.

Chicago has very good city water, I would not hesitate to use tap water for cleaning and rinsing, followed by RO/DI water for a final rinse.

ostrow · #11 01/07/2008, 01:22 PM

Thanks Mike. Her email to me had said screws were in teh tank! So I read it this way here.

GrandeGixxer · #12 01/07/2008, 01:44 PM

As for using tap water. it takes a lot of rinsing to clean old sand. It is fine to use tap and then a final rinse with rodi. I don't see any problem with it.

Beth J · #13 01/07/2008, 03:20 PM

Thanks for all the help guys. I have a stupid question but how do I rinse sand. I don't have a colander or sieve with small enough holes to catch sand.

ostrow · #14 01/07/2008, 03:28 PM

I'd dump it and start over it's gonna be a while before you get water in that tank with sand and rock anyway, right? At least til next weekend? Ditch the leftover stuff.

Beth J · #15 01/07/2008, 03:34 PM

Great advice! Thanks.

pescadero · #16 01/07/2008, 04:08 PM

to rinse out sand, all that you need to do is to put it into a bucket (about half full). put the bucket inside of a wash tub and run water into it as you stir the sand with your hands. adjust the water flow rate and your stirring technique so that the sand stays in the bucket and you're not blowing the sand out of the bucket and down the drain. keep rinsing until the water runs clear and you don't notice any smell.

sand will take a LOT of water to rinse. definitely use tap water. when you think its clean, let the sand sit underwater in buckets for a few days and then rinse it again thoroughly before you use it. chances are that the sand on the bottom of the bucket will surprise you by how bad it smells after you think you've cleaned it.

i would definitely not throw it away. all that it needs is a good rinsing. letting it sit in freshwater for a week should help to kill off any saltwater parasites that may be in the sand.

anjhof · #17 01/07/2008, 05:06 PM

Rinsing sand is a lot of work and you have to ask yourself is it worth your time or would you rather just buy new. Personally, I would buy new stuff.

bigevill · #18 01/07/2008, 10:56 PM

I seriously did not know there were screws in the bottom of the stand till we moved it out of the van in front of her building. I do feel very badly about that. The stand was sitting on carpet in my house and was never flipped to see the bottom nor was it ever slid on the floor so that it might catch for me to know. Once again Beth I am very sorry for that. Just so you know beester and I did pull a worm that was around 4 feet long out of that sand. I thought about leaving it for you

beester15 · #19 01/07/2008, 11:39 PM

it was the biggest salt water worm I have ever seen. ever. it was huge.

that being said. fill the tank with water till you get about 3 inches of fresh water in the tank. let it sit till this weekend...drain the tank...the little bit of freshwater will kill the smell and any unwanted worms will be gone, and your tank will be "sterilized"...

GrandeGixxer · #20 01/08/2008, 12:10 AM

I would take all of the sand out and rinse it like pescadero said. It will get it a lot cleaner and it will also be a lot easier to clean the tank with the sand out.

pescadero · #21 01/08/2008, 01:40 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by beester15
it was the biggest salt water worm I have ever seen. ever. it was huge.

Eeeeewwwwwwwww!

got a photo?

Beth J · #22 01/08/2008, 08:00 AM

Just so everyone knows working with Bigevil was great.

He was very honest and upfront the whole sales experience. I felt so bad that you came all the way to deliver the tank when your new one still needed your attention so badly. I totally understand the screw issue. If it had always been on carpet there was certainly no way I would lift that heavy sucker up to check if the screws came through. That is just one of the dangers of having wood floors. Not to worry I got a kit to fix the scratch. If that is all the damage that I do to my condo engaging in this hobby I will be delighted.

As far as worms and such go I was worried about how to save all of my new beasties not upset that they were in my new baby (er tank). I used to get the same way in my vegetable garden and compost pile. I worried about how to save all of my worms and lady bugs etc.

That being said I am glad that the 4 ft long worm stayed in your tank not my mine. New thought are such things desirable or am I feeling bad for bad things? By the way I chucked the sand. It was just wasn't worth my effort and time right now.

I hope that your new tank is working ok now.

bigevill · #23 01/08/2008, 10:04 AM

well the huge worm went in the toliet. I think it was my "Clam Killer" so I am glad to be rid of it. of course that doesnt mean there are not more of them in the rocks. The new tank is still not running properly, but it will be by wed I hope. Right now all the fish and corals seem to be doing good though I havent seen a few of my smaller fish and I know of at least one coral that is nowhere to be seen.

Anything left in that sand I brought you wouldnt have been too bad or we would have seen it. It was probably best you chucked it though as I agree that it seemed like too much work to keep it.

pescadero · #24 01/08/2008, 04:54 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by bigevill
well the huge worm went in the toliet. I think it was my "Clam Killer" so I am glad to be rid of it. of course that doesnt mean there are not more of them in the rocks.

that was a joke, right? I mean, you didn't actually cultivate and release an exotic species like a giant killer Eunicid worm from Fiji into the local sanitary water system, right? i don't want to start having nightmares about the worm that grew into the size of the Loch Ness Monster and ate Crown Point!

bigevill · #25 01/08/2008, 04:57 PM

we ripped its head off first, of course it could probably regrow its body. Funny thing is that sand bed was only 15 months old. So I know that worm didnt come in the sand that way. It had to have come out of my rocks. That makes me wonder what other monsters I have in there.