rinsing sand...?

erock412

Member
as some of you may know, im moving my 55 to a 125 on monday. ive been told not to move the sand, as it harbors trates, trites, and ammonia, and when it is disturbed, these are re-released into the water. i was going to empty my tank of fish, and the few crabs i have, as well as the LR and water, and put them into an empty, bare bottom tank. then i was going to fill the DT i have running now and stir up the sand to release these chemicals and then do massive water changes to get rid of them. do i have to use salt water for this? because if i do and i have to use all that salt, then i might as well just get new sand, but if i can do it with fresh water then i'll try to salvage that sand and it will be just that much less that ill have to buy...
 

aztec reef

Active Member
I say, u should try to rinse it in saltwater, to save some beneficial bacteria that's on the sand..
Salt and water is cheaper than sand..
U can go a little low on the salinity for the rinsing. say (1.012-1.018)
 
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