washing massive amounts of sand

[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....