live sand questions

[kellyh_01]

Okay, here's today's new questions.
Yesterday I filled the tank with fresh water and tested everything. So far so good. Today I'l be adding the salt and regulating the temperature.
When I bought my tank it had sand and saltwater in the bottom - previous owner said that he took the fish out about a month ago but left the sand covered with saltwater so it would stay live. Is that correct? Is it still live eventhough it wasn't temp controlled and no filtration? Now the sand is in buckets with the same water. When I'm ready to add the sand should I dump it in to the tank like that or rinse it with fresh water first?
Also, my protein skimmer looks like it's working, but no foam. Is that normal with fresh clean water with nothing in it yet? (It's seems like it would be to me).
Thank you so much!
~Kelly

 

[1journeyman]

Originally Posted by kellyh_01
http:///forum/post/2545044
Okay, here's today's new questions.
Yesterday I filled the tank with fresh water and tested everything. So far so good. Today I'l be adding the salt and regulating the temperature.
When I bought my tank it had sand and saltwater in the bottom - previous owner said that he took the fish out about a month ago but left the sand covered with saltwater so it would stay live. Is that correct? Is it still live eventhough it wasn't temp controlled and no filtration? Now the sand is in buckets with the same water. When I'm ready to add the sand should I dump it in to the tank like that or rinse it with fresh water first?
Also, my protein skimmer looks like it's working, but no foam. Is that normal with fresh clean water with nothing in it yet? (It's seems like it would be to me).
Thank you so much!
~Kelly

Well, if they weren't keeping the water temp regulated and the water circulated then the sand is not going to be in very good shape. Unless we are talking about a ton of sand then honestly I'd write it off. Clean it good, and reuse it as "dead" sand.
Do you see any worms in the sand? Any pods? baby starfish? If you do by all means treat it as live sand.
Yes, a skimmer will need the higher SG of saltwater to function properly.

 

[hillius31]

Hmm. I did things a little different when I set my tank up. I put the sand in first. Then I took a dinner plate and put it in the tank on top of the sand where I was going to dump the water in. Then I mixed my salt and water in 5 gallon buckets and checked the salinity in each bucket before I dumped it in the tank. Once tank was full I removed the dinner plate. Started heater and filters. I also bought some silver sides and buried them in the sand to help cycle the tank. I used the dinner plate so my tank wouldnt be cloudy for days after filling it. Thats how I did it. I think that most people mix the salt and water in buckets then add it to the tank. Right guys and gals?
Justin

 

[granny]

My personal opinion is that you can dump the sand and water into your tank as is since there is no livestock in the tank yet. There will have been a die off of beneficial bacteria without oxygen to sustain it, but the die off isnt harmfull and it will give your tank a catalyst to start cycling which is what you want. Watch your skimmer in a few days after adding the sand. You should be seeing bubbles in the column, but after the water/sand addition, you should start seeing some foam. Do you have the basic testing kits for ammonia, nitrites and nitrates so you can monitor the cycling of your tank?

 

[1journeyman]

No reason not to rinse the sand if it is lacking micro critters.
The bacteria will come back soon enough. The sand could well be very dirty and bring a load of Nitrates into your new tank.

 

[sk8shorty01]

Originally Posted by 1journeyman
http:///forum/post/2545081
No reason not to rinse the sand if it is lacking micro critters.
The bacteria will come back soon enough. The sand could well be very dirty and bring a load of Nitrates into your new tank.

I agree here. If there are no critters buzzing about, then there is no reason not to clean the sand in my opinion. The bacteria will repopulate the sand in no time, and who knows, some of the bacteria I am sure will live through the fresh water rinse. I would start with clean sand if you have a choice.