Questions before setup

Hello to all,
I'm extremely new to SW tanks..or feel new...I had a tank about 7 yrs ago but had to leave behind when moving from one state to another..but recently wanted to start another tank...
To make a long story short, My bother-in-law got me into sw again which more then likely trolls these forums all the time except when he at work but instead of putting allot of money into it to start he gave me a oceanic biocube 8 which in guessing is around 8 gallons which needs a new light for it which im gonna buy in a few minutes along with testing kit and heater for it...
the tank was a tank that everything from what i know died in and had the sand still in it and alittle rock and also dirtty as heck so I cleaned it out completely and even kept the sand but ran water through it to remove any algea an i believe i got most of it out if not all.
question is: can i still use the sand or replace it?
whats your oppinion for using a biocube?
I have 2 other tanks that are 10 gal and will use them once i get the hang of things with this biocube but need to get the feel for it all over again.
Thanks in advance for the advice any and all is welcome to make suggestions.

 

For the size of the tank, I would just buy some more sand. It wouldnt cost for than 10-12 dollars I would imagine. The small size of the tank is going to require all of the help it can get in terms of water quality and bioloads.
To answer the question more directly, you could use the same sand, although there might be a chance that the sand has been depleted of many nutrients, and organisms that you would get from a bag of brand new sand from a local fish store(lfs). Good luck on the new tank and be sure to keep us update.

Hopefully my reply will bump your post so that others may chime in as well. Again, welcome to 3reef and I hope you enjoy this forum!

 

I would second the idea of new sand and go with the biocube, while the biocube is not perfect it is better IMO than just a 10 gal. depending on the location of where you place your tank, I would hold off on the heater, mine never comes on. Due to the enclosed system it maintains heat well.

 

You could use it, but why? You can get aragonite type play sand for real cheap, and for that matter you can even use silicate type sand. I've used it and never experienced the ditomic bloom that is internet fodder. And know several that use it as well... But to be on the safe side, just get some kolorscape sand which has been used extensively with great success...

If you do use it, I would make SURE that it's well rinsed. I mean pristine... It's likely that if it was in a crashed tank that there are ALL sorts of metabolites and nasty chemicals in it. Not to mention all sorts of organic material that will cause problems later if allowed to exist. So I'd wash it for hours, not minutes. But I'm sure that you'll conclude that the money you'll save is not worth the time it will take to get it clean.