Should sand be rinsed out?

[Daisy82]

So my tank sprung a leak and I had to empty everything. I'm wondering what to do with the sand when I put it back in - would this be a good time to rinse it all out? The sand that was in the back looked pretty grody - lots of junk in it.

I'm hoping to avoid a giant nitrite spike when I dump it all back in, but I'm also worried about losing the benefits of my live sand by washing it .... any opinions?

Also, while hauling pound after pound of live rock out of my leaking tank, I began to wonder if the leak was caused by having too much rock. How much is too much?

[+mcallahan]

I'd wash the sand, BUT only after you put a couple of cups aside to re-seed it.

You'll probably see some nitrate spike, but water changes will help keep them down. So make sure you have plenty of saltwater mixed up ready to go.

How much rock is too much...? That's a good ? and I'm assuming you are asking in regards to having too much weight for the tank to handle. The answer is that it really depends. I've seen tanks stacked full of heavy LR and they don't leak. And I've seen tanks will little LR leak. If your tank's seals are in good shape, you shouldn't have a problem with the LR in there.

[Daisy82]

Oh, good idea about setting some of the sand aside! Thanks mcallahan. Is there any particular method that's more effective for cleaning sand? I planned on filling a bucket 1/3 full of sand, and filling it with hose water - mixing it up and letting the water overflow till it looked clear. It works in my head, but someone please tell me if there's a better way!

Yup, I was referring to the weight of the rock. I pulled an unbelievable amount out - it overflowed a large (60 gal?) trash bin, and most of the pieces were heavy. It made me think that maybe the tiny frag of duncans I put in a couple of days ago could have been the proverbial straw that broke the camel's back! haha.

[+mcallahan]

Oh, good idea about setting some of the sand aside! Thanks mcallahan. Is there any particular method that's more effective for cleaning sand? I planned on filling a bucket 1/3 full of sand, and filling it with hose water - mixing it up and letting the water overflow till it looked clear. It works in my head, but someone please tell me if there's a better way!

Yup, I was referring to the weight of the rock. I pulled an unbelievable amount out - it overflowed a large (60 gal?) trash bin, and most of the pieces were heavy. It made me think that maybe the tiny frag of duncans I put in a couple of days ago could have been the proverbial straw that broke the camel's back! haha.

for washing the sand, I do what you do...put some in a bucket and "boil" it with the hose water.

Your LR might be mainly base rock - i.e. non-porous rock that is really heavy. Even my largest LR piece (20" long, 6" across") isn't that heavy when I heaved it out of my tank a while back since it is very porous and mainly filled with water

[Daisy82]

interesting... the heavy pieces are non-porous and so they aren't effective when it comes to filtering? Do they serve any other purpose besides taking up room in my tank?

Or maybe we have different definitions of "heavy"... that could just be my chicken muscles talking.

[+mcallahan]

interesting... the heavy pieces are non-porous and so they aren't effective when it comes to filtering? Do they serve any other purpose besides taking up room in my tank?

Or maybe we have different definitions of "heavy"... that could just be my chicken muscles talking.

the non-porous pieces don't have as much surface area for bacteria to grow on, including the deep holes that non-aerobic bacteria grow in. These non-porous pieces do serve as good base rock pieces though as since they are heavier, then they can't be moved around by burrowing tank critters like jawfish, engineer gobies, etc.

[Daisy82]

Ah, that makes sense. And I have several fish that like to burrow. Guess I'll hang on to those pieces.

[Timfish]

+1 with most of what Mcallahan said. I would think if a rock or pile of rocks was too heavy it would breack the glass not cause a joint to start leaking. If there's a layer of sand to distribute the wieght so there's not a "pressure point" were a rock is conveying all the weight above it to a single point on the glass I don't see how the glass could break. When I'm stacking rock I don't like solid pieces at all. As long as a piece is stable and doesn't rock when setting in place I'm happy and the more porous the better.

[Robb in Austin]

In support of Mr. Callahan I give you:

http://www.melevsreef.com/rinsing_sand.html

I may be way off here, but maybe we have a future Melev growing in our own back yard.

[+mcallahan]

Robb...thanks!! You are now my agent!!!

[Robb in Austin]

Can I call you Tuggernuts and get a G5 airplane? I already have a kid and a pilot.