CaribSea Arag-Alive claims no rinsing needed and fast clear water - is it legit?

[chousecat]

Hello,

I am upgrading to a new tank and want to use new sand, the only sand that my LFS had was this CaribSea Arag-Alive https://www.bulkreefsupply.com/fiji-pink-arag-alive-live-reef-sand.html . The worker at the LFS claims it doesn't need a rinse and can be thrown in. Anyone have experience with how cloudy this sand is and if whats advertised is legit?

 

[brandon429]

No it's not very clear at all, only for some that get lucky. Cup test it....put an unrinsed handful into a glass of clear water, imagine that being your tank


The fix: pre rinse it in tap. It's bacteria don't matter, being clear in prep for the new tank matters.

 

[Reef Psychology]

I mean, if this is a new tank, what's one day of dirty water? Double the filter floss and it's usually crystal clear in the morning. Of course, there's a later of haze on the rock and sand but that's gone in a couple of more days. IDK, seems like a lot of rising work for 24hrs of lazy waiting lol.

 

[brandon429]

Some don't clear though

Most do, but page one below has about fifteen examples of those who didn't clear due to high silt rates

Official Sand Rinse and Tank Transfer thread

The best way to prepare your sand for use in a transferred reef tank, an upgraded reef tank, a reef tank under invasion etc is to put the sand in sections in a bucket and TAP WATER rinse it outside over and over with the garden hose until all the silt / waste is ejected, expect hours of work per...

www.reef2reef.com

We make such good work out of pre rinsing

 

[taylored_projects]

Hello,

I am upgrading to a new tank and want to use new sand, the only sand that my LFS had was this CaribSea Arag-Alive https://www.bulkreefsupply.com/fiji-pink-arag-alive-live-reef-sand.html . The worker at the LFS claims it doesn't need a rinse and can be thrown in. Anyone have experience with how cloudy this sand is and if whats advertised is legit?

I've always used it right out of the bag. Sand first then the water. I've never added the sand to an already-filled tank.

 

[infinite0180]

I made the mistake of not rinsing on my first tank. It sucked. This time i rinsed throughly and its much better!

 

[taricha]

I wonder if you could get by doing something like this. The bagged sand is already wet so maybe put it in a bucket of aquarium water, stir and use a sieve like Dan suggests here.

How would you like to take a bag of new aragonite sand, treat it dry and then rinse once with a minimum amount of water to produce sand that barely produces a haze?

All that is needed to “treat” the dry sand is an 80 mesh screen. The 80 mesh screen holds back the sand and lets most of the dust fall through. For example, I sieved 29.6 g of sand for about 30 seconds and removed 5.6 g of dust, the sand fraction that takes a small pond full of water to remove. The 24 g of sand retained barely clouds water and rinsed once does not noticeably cloud the water at all. A sieve is relatively cheap too.

 

[CoachRichardson]

Why would you rinse live sand? That kind of takes the whole purpose out of it. It comes with a packet of clarifier. It didn't use it in mine. I think a lot of it is the care you take when you fill the tank. When you empty the bag, place it on the sand and fill the tank by pour the water on the bag. It helps a lot with the cloudiness.

 

[A Young reefer]

Rinsing live sand defies the purpose of it being "live". however I still rinse it; on my first nano the cloudiness was unbearable and whenever I did maintenance it would release any of the dust trapped down causing the whole tank to become cloudy. I would recommend rinsing it with RODI, tap water in my experience was high in silicates and caused some problems such as diatoms.

 

[Morpheosz]

I started my tank with that sand and it wasn't too terribly cloudy and I used the packet of clarifier and it cleared up in no time. Agree with all the comments that rinsing live sand is killing the live part. I think I even stirred it a bit with my hand to release what I could and let the clarifier clump it and filter sock remove it.

 

[brandon429]

Imagine a scenario where a fifty page thread on the matter exists for reading, the only one on the internet, and then you consider advice that doesn't come from any work thread and advises polar opposite procedures and says pre rinsing is bad

Examples shown on page one of the thread are numerous for folks who hated skip rinsing, showing opaque muddy tanks but that isn't factored

Following group think has a consequence at times, we show


I would for sure do what the crowd says to do, don't read the thread, don't pre test the sand just dump that stuff right in post pics after pls

 

[Reefer1978]

Imagine a scenario where a fifty page thread on the matter exists for reading, the only one on the internet, and then you consider advice that doesn't come from any work thread and advises polar opposite procedures and says pre rinsing is bad

Examples shown on page one of the thread are numerous for folks who hated skip rinsing, showing opaque muddy tanks but that isn't factored

Following group think has a consequence at times, we show


I would for sure do what the crowd says to do, don't read the thread, don't pre test the sand just dump that stuff right in post pics after pls

I am sensing morning sarcasm... but I haven't had a coffee yet, I could be off.

 

[brandon429]

He has a 95% chance of success by not rinsing

But not one hundred/ the opaqued team gets its members down this path he he

Do a cup test, imagine that being our display...

 

[Jrain904]

I’ve used tons of bags of that stuff over the years in several different tanks and have never had a lingering dirty water issue. I put sand in first (not washed or filtered or anything) and then pour the water into the tank over the empty bag of sand. Pouring water over an empty bag of sand is the key!

 

[Reefer1978]

He has a 95% chance of success by not rinsing

But not one hundred/ the opaqued team gets its members down this path he he

I actually have 9 bags of Fiji Pink sitting here, and I can see white water when moving the bag around... rinsing for sure!!!

 

[flashsmith]

Why would anybody even buy live sand knowing they're going to rinse it? Lol While cycling there's nothing in your tank anyway. Just stir it once a day and let your filter pull it out. Within a couple days you're good. Again nothing in the tank anyway. Why do reefers insist on making things so much more difficult than they are?

 

[Reefer1978]

I’ve used tons of bags of that stuff over the years in several different tanks and have never had a lingering dirty water issue. I put sand in first (not washed or filtered or anything) and then pour the water into the tank over the empty bag of sand. Pouring water over an empty bag of sand is the key!

The issue is not lingering for sure, but this dusting will be everywhere... and whipping it all under the water, plus washing the filter socks is more of a pain IMHO.

 

[Reefer1978]

Why would anybody even buy live sand knowing they're going to rinse it? Lol While cycling there's nothing in your tank anyway. Just stir it once a day and let your filter pull it out. Within a couple days you're good. Again nothing in the tank anyway. Why do reefers insist on making things so much more difficult than they are?

In my case, the price was unbeatable. Petco had it on sale, $10 per 20lb bag, shipped to the house for free.

 

[FMF0331]

I started a frag tank with the same product, I dumped everything into the tank. Waited a few days and everything was good to go.

 

[brandon429]

Truly most bags aren't the very high silt kind, it's why the masses are ok not rinsing

But if someone makes a work thread about sand, losing one of every ten jobs to an unhappy outcome isn't acceptable

What works in our home via luck and no planning doesn't always translate well for others

The only path to 8 years of work in one thread with perfect outcomes is....

Non rinsers tell everyone it'll work without a problem, these guys believed that:

10 days, still won't settle and clouds fully

cloudy Tank

Hi all, so i set up my tank. and used "Carib Sea Arag-Alive 20-Pound Fiji Pink Sand" BUT i did not rinse the sand out, i used it straight from the bag. :( This has cause the water to be cloudy.. the tank has been set up for 1 week. After a day or so the tank settles and the water gets a bit...

www.reef2reef.com

Bummer. Could Use Some Help!

So, forget to clean the sand before I put it in the tank. Anytime it moves of course I get the sediment clouding up the tank and all that goes with that. And there is already a thin layer in the sump. I can deal with the sump easily enough during a water change but concerned about the...

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Add new sand without rinse

Hi guy, I just add new special grade sand without rinse. I added slowly 1/3 bag per day, but didn’t rinse. My tank seem cloudy, but I have skimmer and 2 filter socks. My tank has sps, lps and 9 fishes. Should I expect a mini cycle. I concern my coral and fish die tomorrow

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