Forgot to rinse sand :(

[george99]

I'm off to a bad start. I got this great 55 gallon tank for Christmas set it up and forgot to rinse the sand. Now my water is all cloudy and I'm wondering it I have to start over?? The good new is I have not add a scout fist as of yet so no one has died by my hand. So do I have to drain the the tank and rinse the sand? This is my first salt water tank and I was so looking forward to adding a couple of fish. Thanks in advance.
Regards, George

 

[sinner's g]

he good new is I have not add a scout fist as of yet so no one has died by my hand.
what is a scout fist?
let the sand settle, then vaccum it. (assuming you adding dead sand. if you added ls, then just let it settle-you don't rinse ls)
You shouldn't add fish till the tank cycles. once you've vaccum teh sand and replace the water, add a raw dead shrimp or uncured lr to start the cycle, sit back, read post here, and wait. Test the water in a few weeks. When am and nitrites are zero, do a water change to lower nitrates. When nitrates are under 20 (better yet at 0) you may add your first fish.
good luck and have fun!
Sinner's girl

 

[hatessushi]

What she said

 

[teen]

what type of sand was it? in some cases the silt is just as useful as the sand itself. some people choose not to rinse the sand at all.

 

[ninjamini]

Rinse sand. If its live sand I would never do it. Just have sand cleaners to clean things up.

 

[ugluk]

Beginner here. Exactly how do you go about rinsing sand?

 

[hot883]

Originally Posted by ugluk
Beginner here. Exactly how do you go about rinsing sand?
Pour some in a clean brand new 5 gallon bucket and rinse, rinse, rinse.........

 

[salt_water]

Go into your kitchen and grab the biggest bowl you have. Place it in the sink. Pour in sand - about half to 3/4 full of sand. Turn water on low and let it fill the bowl and have it slowly running over the sides. Slowly run your hand through the sand making sure not to stir it up too much but to get all the "haze" out of the water. It will run clear within a minute or so. Then add sand to tank. Repeat until all your sand is clean. This is for small tanks, I did this with 40lbs of sand which is about the limit for me. Any bigger of a tank and I would have gone hot883's route and used a 5-gallon bucket and I would use the same method. Let it run slowly over the sides until it runs "clear". (I used the very fine sand, which is why I run the water slowly as not to lose too much of the sand)

 

[chilwil84]

if you put some filter floss in a hob or canister you can help clear the water faster otherwise let it settle ,vaccum and and cycle

 

[ugluk]

Originally Posted by hot883
Pour some in a clean brand new 5 gallon bucket and rinse, rinse, rinse.........

Still not clear about this. So do you get a hose and spray the sand?

 

[marineguys]

We have a 4 month old 55. We forgot to rinse the sand also. It took 4 days to clear the water 100%. It was not live. It was aragonite. Hope it helps.

 

[1journeyman]

Originally Posted by ugluk
Still not clear about this. So do you get a hose and spray the sand?
I would not use tap water as it could introduce chemicals, trace metals, etc. to your tank.
I also wouldn't worry about it at this point. Let the sand settle on it's own. If you have rocks in the tank already you can vaccuum them off as the sand settles.
If you have a skimmer it will help clear out the sandstorm. Just make sure to clean your pumps/powerheads after the sand subsides.
What Barry was saying was to put sand in a container and fill it with RO/DI water, swish it around, and discard water. Repeat until sand is clean.
DO NOT add any fish/corals/inverts until you have thoroughly research tank "cycling". Once you have done that, begin your tank's cycle and monitor chemicals. Your tank will be ready to slowly add some fish and inverts in4-6 weeks.
Patience and research are keys for a successful tank. Don't ever buy anything until you know how hardy it is, what it requires, how big it gets, and if it's compatible with your size tank and your goals.
Feel free to ask away with more questions!

 

[george99]

Thanks Everyone for your input!!! And sorry about the typos!!
Sinner's G, a "Scout Fish" is the first Fish you put into a new tank to see if the coast is clear for other fish.

 

[bang guy]

I would never rinse aragonite sand because it would remove all of the silt.
There's nothing to see in a new aquarium for at least a month so why be concerned if it's cloudy for a few days?
Some live rock and good water circulation and the silt will settle once it has a bacteria coating.

 

[mandarin w]

I'm thinking a scout fish is suppose to be a damsel. It sounds like your LFS wants you to cycle your tank useing a damsel. This practic is cruel, and most hobbist don't like that mentod, it is not needed. You will know you tank is ready to support fish by your test reading. Don't worry about buying fish yet, buy some test kits, ph, amonia, nitrite and nitrate. Read about cycleing a tank, the tests will tell you. Also look into getting a few books.