Best way to clean and add reef flakes

[msl27620]

So I finally found my forever home and am setting up my forever (well as long as possible) reef build. I'm going with a 120 gallon DSB using Tropic Eden Reef flakes.

I have made a lot of mistakes when setting up aquariums since I was young and have learned from them. I used to just dump in fine sand and live with the cloudy water for a couple of weeks ... I'm married now, that probably won't bode well with the wife having a muddy slush of sand and water in this expensive little glass box. I will be rinsing the flakes out (about 270 lbs) before putting it in the tank.

I am taking an opinion poll on the easiest/best ways to rinse out reef flakes.

Some key questions that I have:

1) *Chemically*, does the sand have to be rinsed with RODI water or is tap okay? (If it is only used for the rinse)
2) Is it better to let the sand dry after rinsing or does that defeat the purpose?
3) Does anyone have a clever idea on how to rinse a larger quantity (let's say 270 lbs) of sand with little effort and time? (I have some containers as well as a spare 55 gallon tank if that gives you ideas
4) Any other tips that I might not know to ask for (I know about the plate or salad bowl trick, I know I have to rinse the sand, but what equipment should/shouldn't be running after first filling up the tank after dumping sand?

Thanks!

 

[jgalen0025]

i didnt have to rinse mine. water was crystal clear immediately

 

[msl27620]

I like the sound of that! Anyone else have success without rinsing reef flakes?

 

[Shaummy]

I didn't rinse mine either...

 

[Bilk]

Tried rinsing and still got cloudy water. Maybe a one time rinse and that's it. No matter how much you rinse I think you'll still get cloudiness.

If you want to add sand after the tank is filled, get a large diameter PVC pipe that reaches the tank bottom - 2" works well - then make a funnel for the top and pour the sand thru the pipe. I recently added some sand to my established tank like this with no problems. I used a 22" refillable RO GAC cartridge I had on had for the pipe part. It's 2" in diameter. For the funnel I taped one of those thin, flexible cutting boards to the pipe, formed into a cone.

 

[inetmug]

If you want to add sand after the tank is filled, get a large diameter PVC pipe that reaches the tank bottom - 2" works well - then make a funnel for the top and pour the sand thru the pipe. I recently added some sand to my established tank like this with no problems. I used a 22" refillable RO GAC cartridge I had on had for the pipe part. It's 2" in diameter. For the funnel I taped one of those thin, flexible cutting boards to the pipe, formed into a cone.

Now that, is an awesome idea.....

 

[bertoni]

Tap water probably is acceptable for rinsing sand. That's what I did, back when I rinsed my sand.

 

[Bilk]

Now that, is an awesome idea.....

Thanks, but it's not original I'm sure I read about doing it that way here at one time or another. Just passing the info along

 

[msl27620]

Thanks everyone! I think I'm going to go with no rinse and be very careful when pouring in my initial saltwater. I will be putting the reef flakes in before the water, but I do like the idea of the pvc pipe and funnel. I will definitely use that if I ever have to add sand to a tank with water in it.

 

[Heisenreef]

I added some reef flakes to an existing system and just put the whole back in there and cut the bottom. Water was foamy and cloudy for an hour but the skimmer took care of it in no time.