Adding more sand ontop of current layer.

So in my 40gallon reef, I have about half an inch of sand. I have a lot of sand from an old 20 gallon reef I took down, I would like to thoroughly wash this, and add it to my current reef to increase the depth of the sand bed.

I know I shouldnt go anything past 2.5" unless I wanted a DSB (Which I dont), however I have a large CuC consisting of dwarf ceriths and other types of snails all ontop of my sand. Should i be concerned about pouring sand ontop of them? Im assuming they will be able to dig their way out correct?

 

Don't worry about burying ceriths. They bury themselves

I do not advocate reusing sand. I'd suggest buying new, but that's your call.


I'd recommend getting some plastic tube that reaches the bottom of the tank. Turn off all flow and pour the sand down the tube so it's not going through the water column.

One trick I've used is to cap the end of the tube with saran wrap and a rubber band. Fill it with sand and put it in the water. Reach down with your hand and take the 'cap' off and the sand will pour out.

This keep it from mixing with the water in the tube and makes for a cleaner pour.

Leave flow off till it's all settled.

Good luck.

P

 

I used the tube method as well. when your done and you look down the tube, you may notice the water in the tube is very cloudy and dirty. before you pull the tube out of the water, reach down and cover it with your hand then discard the water in the tube otherwise, it will cloud your water and defeat the purpose. this may or may not happen with yours as I used new sand and didn't rinse, but something to lookout for.

 

If you want to reuse your sand I think you can but it has to be cleaned very well first. I reuse my sand that gets sucked out when I vacuum my tank. I store it until I have enough and then I boil it in a large pot for 15 min, then bake it at 250 degrees for 30 min to dry it and then let it cool completely. Been doing this for a long time and have never had any problems doing it. And it has saved me lots of money not having to buy sand. Depending if you have a significant other you may to get pots and cookie sheets just for cleaning the sand, and it may smell for a while, not too stong but there is an ocean smell, doesnt bother me I live 3 blocks from the ocean I smell it all the time.

 

I have used pvc with a funnel taped to it and it worked great. very minimal cloudiness. But I did use new sand.

I wash my filter socks in the washer with just water, and it smells awesome afterwards

 

Sounds great i will likely be washing the sand today.

 

So i washed teh sand for about 20 minutes until the water was clear exiting the bucket. It is only about 10-15 pounds of sand i am adding. I also put it spread out on baking trays and baked it at 350 degrees for close to 10 minutes. It is dry and looks clean with the exception of a few dead snail shells. Seems good enough to me?

 

Hmmmm, trying to make glass? Just kidding. I have never heard of anyone ever doing this. "Baking sand" Seems you are doing more damage than good. Most sands have beneficial bacteria that this process would kill.

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Except ibefishy LOL.

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The sand has been dry and dead for probably 8 months. There is no beneficial bacteria but instead probably detritus and trapped decaying matter. So the sand must have been washed to rid any potential problems and then baked to dry it.