washing massive amounts of sand

[Europhyllia]

how should I wash my new sand.
I am getting massive amounts of it

manufacturer suggests making a hole in the bag, sticking a hose in it and flushing it until the stuff that runs out of the bag gets less milky looking.
potential con: tab water

or should I pour the sand in a big tab and slosh it around in RO water?

both? or something else

I have a bottle of prime on hand (dechlorinator and also ammonia detoxer)
If I use tab water with Prime will it affect cycling (will the bacteria be able to eat the altered ammonia, will the altered ammonia show up in my test kit)?

[Gseclipse02]

when i moved the tanks i used tap water to rinse it till the water was crystal clear drain all of the excess water and dumped it into the tank filled up the tank and threw every one in (fish/corals) never have had an issue that way

[Europhyllia]

completely new sand still in package :) (just mentioning it since I won't throw the stuff in until cycle completes :) )

[jroescher]

I've always rinsed mine in a tub of some kind using plain water straight out of the garden hose.

[jrsatx20]

I've always thrown it in a Rubbermaid and ran the hose. Then got a tarp n layed it out to dry it out. Done that with new n old cycled sand.

[BIGBIRD123]

Karin, what I did with 300# of sand was put in a tub and fill it with water. Then I put a large media reactor with filter floss and stirred the sand to suspend the silt into the water column. I put in new filter floss about every 4 hrs and the sand was totally clean in 24 hrs. HTH

[Europhyllia]

sounds like a good idea and probably more efficient than washing each bag by itself

[ErikH]

If I told you that my tank is run off tap water, what would you think? :)

It is, by the way.

[ballardjr2000]

If I told you that my tank is run off tap water, what would you think? :)

It is, by the way.

I would say so is mine all tap water all the time.

[BIGBIRD123]

If I told you that my tank is run off tap water, what would you think? :)

It is, by the way.

I have heard this from several people but there is no way I'm going to put 265 TDS water in mine...:) That's what is going into my RO/DI unit...

[kkiel02]

Karin, what I did with 300# of sand was put in a tub and fill it with water. Then I put a large media reactor with filter floss and stirred the sand to suspend the silt into the water column. I put in new filter floss about every 4 hrs and the sand was totally clean in 24 hrs. HTH

Was this with rodi water or just tap water?

[ballardjr2000]

I hear yah big bird, i just haven't broken down and got my ro unit yet. THats a shame on me so its still tap water.

[Europhyllia]

I have no problem with other people putting in their tank whatever they want. ;)
But for me this is a starting over point - in part due to losing my fight with algae.
I'd like to be as thorough as possible in setting this up.
Because trying to fix it after you screw it up is just a lot more work.

[ballardjr2000]

for washing your sand i think you will be fine putting it in a tub and using a regular old hose, and if your really worried about it dry it out on a tarp in the sun. however i think a good rinsing and draining with regular tap water wont hurt your tank. and most people add the sand prior to cycling also. just a thought

[SirReal63]

I just put mine in a tote and wash it with the hose, stirring it up until it is mostly clean. It is virtually impossible to get all of the fine particles out. You can get a lot of them out though. I do one bag at a time, it is more efficient at cleaning that way. If the tank is cloudy, mine was a few months ago, I set up a Magnum Hang On Tank filter with a lot of floss in it, tank was crystal clear the next morning.

[BIGBIRD123]

Was this with rodi water or just tap water?

I used saltwater, trying to save anything beneficial for the tank...I know, kind of crazy but had no mini-cycle at all.
Disclaimer...this is just what I did and I am not giving advice to do the same....