locoyo386

Hi there,
I Have a question. I have 20 lbs of live sand that was in a tank that had some kind of illness. All the fish and live rock are gone, and left with the live sand. What can I do to this sand so that I can use it in a new tank and not carry over what ever it was in the old tank?

HN1

Let it dry completely and then rinse very well. You can also use a bleach solution as long as you follow that with good rinsing and thorough drying.

locoyo386

Hi there,
I take it, it will not be live sand anymore than.

harpua2002

No it won't. But it will become live again in time when you add your live rock.

billyboy2

i would not use bleach! if there was an illness in your saltwater tank rince the sand in fresh water. Any bacteria/parasites..ect living in the sand will die. much safer than using bleach, i would not even consider using it again if you bleached it. for how much cost you would put into starting another tank, using chemicals is a risky choice and will more than likely cost you more in the longrun if it does affect your tank.

HN1

Bleach is not that frightful. Note that I said "bleach solution". A thorough rinSe and dry will render it 100% safe.

Angela_96

Bleach is a great way to sterlize stuff for an aquairum, when you use it rinse it out and use a strong dechlorinator (triple dose). Wait for a few days then ad live rock.

I used bleach in all of my rocks that I got for my FW tanks, boiled them and then put them in the tank for a couple weeks before placing live stock in it. With no problems.

Annadvn

Bleach is perfectly fine, just make sure you rinse well and dry (if you dry the sand in the sun is great)

Or put the sand into microwavable containers and microwave for a few minutes, this will kill off everything in the sand although i would still rinse the sand afterwards.

Anna

locoyo386

Hi there,
What do you all think about rinsing it in RO water? Will it kill all/or anything that killed my fish?

HN1

RO will not do anything to kill anything in the sand. Drying it out completely afterwards will.

locoyo386

Hi there,
I will go with the bleach and rinse very, very , very thoroughly.

HN1

Make sure to let it dry after the rinses. Best of luck and keep us updated. I'm looking forward to the build thread!