What is wrong with buying Dead Sand?

[KathyC]

The way I see it - there are 3 different types of sand:
1- live sand - a waste of $ IMO
2- new sand - bought in bags from LFS
3 - dead sand - taken out of a tank that was previously running

Pro's & cons:
1- live sand..is it really alive after it sits on a shelf for a all that time?

2- this is the sand many folks put into their tanks when setting them up. It needs to be rinsed very well to get all of the dust out.
I suggest rinising it in RO water so that it is not adsorbing all of the crud in your tap water. Why start a tank off on the wrong foot. And yes, it takes copious amounts of water to rinse it.Most people add a cup of 'live' sand to this from an established tank, and in a fairly short period of time, the sand will ALL become live.

3- dead sand - the topic of this thread...

Dead sand implies the sand has been in a another tank and most likely it has adsorbed all kinds of nonsense while in that tank including worst of all - phosphates...
I don't care how many times you rinse it - the sand will still have phosphates/nitrates/whatever else in it. It's the same as the reasoning for needing to 'cook' (as opposed to 'cure' which is entirely different) dead rock and that is to get ALL of the impurities out of it.

Why start a new tank with someones elses headache?
Would you do a tank upgrade and not change your sandbed?

..my 2 cents

 

[andylee]

I agree with Kathy. I know of people who have gotten out of the hobby because of red slime or algae problems. Sand that has had that kind of problem (and who knows what chemical treatments) would not make a good start for a new tank.

 

[Dre]

Dead sand implies the sand has been in a another tank and most likely it has adsorbed all kinds of nonsense while in that tank including worst of all - phosphates...
I don't care how many times you rinse it - the sand will still have phosphates/nitrates/whatever else in it. It's the same as the reasoning for needing to 'cook' (as opposed to 'cure' which is entirely different) dead rock and that is to get ALL of the impurities out of it.

Why start a new tank with someones elses headache?
Would you do a tank upgrade and not change your sandbed?

So Kathy, it sounds like your implying we should not use live rocks from a previous tank unless we cook it? That would suggest to me and others if we have a phosphate/nitrate problem, brake down the tank and start fresh with new rock and sand because there is no other way unless we boil them...

 

[KathyC]

So Kathy, it sounds like your implying we should not use live rocks from a previous tank unless we cook it? That would suggest to me and others if we have a phosphate/nitrate problem, brake down the tank and start fresh with new rock and sand because there is no other way unless we boil them...

I am implying that you are leaving yourself open to whatever issues the rock or sand may have been having in the previous tank.

Boiling the rock is not 'cooking' it..that is boiling it and may kill whatever is alive in there, but it won't get the phosphates and other nasities out of the rock/sand. I never heard of anyone cooking sand...too easy & cheap to replace with new.

In a tank that is already running - and is not being taken down - there are the usual methods that can be used to deal with these issues such as running GFO and carbon and practicing proper husbandry to get the rock back into shape...but you know that

The question was about using dead sand from another tank, so that was what I directed my answer towards

 

[Dre]

[PDF OVERLAY][/PDF OVERLAY]The question was about using dead sand from another tank, so that was what I directed my answer towards [PDF OVERLAY][/PDF OVERLAY]

Yeah i know, at this point i'm a bit confused.

 

[KathyC]

Yeah i know, at this point i'm a bit confused.

I'm sorry, didn't mean to cause any confusion.
I was just using the comparison to what we do to dead rock (meaning previously used live rock) to show that we take some sort of action to make sure the rock is in great shape before starting a new tank.

As 'cooking' sand would be an awful lot of time/work for something that can be purchased for a reasonable price, I (personally) cannot see the sense is using dead sand - even if it is rinsed off- in a NEW set up..especially a frag tank - where you would want everything perfect from the get-go.

Is it the 'cooking' part that you aren't familiar with?

..and my apologies for this thread taking a left turn!

 

[Chiefmcfuz]

:bannd:

:joke:


:backtotop

 

[Wolverine57]

+1 I agree with Dre
Kathy, so the only way to introduce rock in a new system is by, buying "Dry Rock"...LOL I've been in the hobby as long as I've been on MR about 6 yrs. I don't consider to be more knowledgeable then others here, still learning as I go! But I disagree with your comments!
You mention Pro?s and Con?s! From the 3 types of sand you mention, you did not state the Pro?s or Con?s of either one, except the only con?s you stated was using ?dead sand?.

Now, just about everyone here replied with the same answer, RINSE! That being said, whenever anyone buys dead sand, one should first wash/rinse the sand thoroughly before putting into your system. Either way, the tank will need to go through a cycle period! In addition one also would need to check there levels on a weekly basis before introducing any live stock. All startup tanks or upgrades, even when a hobbyist is transferring rocks from one tank to another there will be a spike and dye off will occur and always some cycling will take place.

Yes back to the TOPIC! So are you saying that no matter how many times, you wash the dead sand, even with multiple water changes that the sand will never be cleanse from all the bad stuff!

 

[KathyC]

Sorry I bothered to try and explain it. do whatever you want with it. You missed my point, as that is not what I said.

 

[Reef Fixations]

I usually don't mind using dead or dry sand but in the case of "previously used" live sand, it is best to know that the source you are getting it from had proper practices for a reef tank especially.

I think Kathy was referring to possible issues like aiptasia or maybe even copper. Aiptasia may die with freshwater but it may take a good while (not sure how long) and copper may not/won't come out at all.

There could possibly be other issues that the person that gave you the sand never even knew about such as other pests like acro eating flatworms and other fun stuff.

I have only ever added "used live sand" from people that I knew personally but to each their own I guess. It would just be a kick in the tail if after all of your effort in setting up a system, you had to contend with some other issue. This hobby is full of enough unforeseen issues and it's probably best to minimize them if possible.

At the end of the day this hobby is full of opinions and we all end up doing whatever we want to do anyway =) that is something that we are all probably guilty of in this hobby.

 

[prattreef]

I'll add a few thoughts here:

1) Live sand in the bag is probably alive in terms of bacteria, but not much beyond that.

2) The concern with re-using formerly live sand ( now dried and dead) is that sand beds, like live rock, act as nutrient sinks or sponges in an aquarium. The question is how much of the nutrients are merely caught in between the grains of sand or are coating the surfaces of the grains and how much was absorbed into the individual grains. The former can be rinsed away ( as Chief describes) the later can't ( what Kathy was referring to with her rock analogy). I've re-used old sand before without issue but:

3) New dry sand is so cheap in the scheme of setting up a reef tank and it is easily seeded with a few handfuls of live sand or from the live rock in the system that I hardly see why you would opt for someone's discarded sand bed.

4) buying all live sand (non-bagged, real, from the reef live sand --does anyone still sell that ?) is not necessary, though a little bit adds nice diversity to the tank.