Stop Cloudy Tank Water: How to Properly Rinse Dry Reef Sand

Welcome back to Simple Reefs. In this article, we are bringing you another handy guide – Stop Cloudy Tank Water: How to Properly Rinse Dry Reef Sand.

If you are still undecided on which substrate to buy, you might want to check out our guides on choosing the best sand type or the differences between live and dry sand before you start.

The Milkshake Mistake: In this guide, we are going to help you avoid a weeks-long sandstorm in your living room. We will look at the most efficient ways to rinse your dry sand, why your garden hose might be your best friend, and most importantly, how to ensure your new substrate is chemically safe for your reef.

Dry Reef Sand Saves Money But Needs a Little Work

We can safely make the assumption that, if you are reading this article, you decided to save yourself a bunch of money by opting to use dry sand in your marine aquarium rather than live sand.

Dry sand is fantastic value and will save you a ton of cash in the long run. If you have opted for a sand bed and decided dry sand is the most affordable route, you are likely aware of one major downside: that stuff is dirty as hell.

If you were to just throw it into your aquarium without any preparation, it would turn your water brown almost instantly and that sediment wouldn’t settle for days. That’s without mentioning what it would do to your filters.

You are going to need to rinse it. Now, a quick caveat before we start, none of this applies to live sand. Live sand does not need rinsing and should be placed into the aquarium wet, straight out of the bag.

Why Do I Need to Rinse Dry Sand?

The simple reason that you need to rinse dry sand is that there is a lot of ground up coral skeleton and dust bound up in the bag, along with other potential loose contaminants. Dry aragonite sand is mined and bagged dry, which means fine dust accumulates during processing and transport.

Not only will these make your water dirty straight away, they will remain in the sand, potentially causing problems further down the line.

If you do not rinse your dry sand, you will end up with enormously cloudy water that can last a ridiculously long time and filters that will need cleaning every single day. I don’t even want to mention the cloud of dust that will be kicked up every time a fish gets to close to the substrate.

Rinsing the sand sends those much finer particles down the drain rather than leaving them in your tank. This is one of the easiest ways to make your long term maintenance much more straight forward.

How to Rinse Dry Sand: 3 Proven Methods

All of these methods require a few basics:

• A food-safe bucket.
• Your dry sand.
• A plate or pan lid to help drain water.
• A dechlorinating liquid to make the sand safe for immediate use.

We’ll start with the easy way because, as is often the case in life, easy way sometimes equals the best way. You just need a garden hose.

Should I Use RO/DI Water to Rinse Sand?

We can save a lot of money and time here by not wasting RO/DI water. You do not need to use RO/DI water to rinse dry sand. Tap water is perfectly fine because the sand is not yet in your aquarium system.

The only important step is neutralising chlorine or chloramine afterwards using a dechlorinator.

Using RO/DI for rinsing works, but it wastes a lot of purified water unnecessarily. Dechlorinator is a much more cost effective solution. Some concentrated brands are under £5 and last a long time.

Comparison: Which Rinsing Method is Right for You?

Method	Best For…	Pros	Cons
The Easy Way (Hose)	Hobbyists with gardens	Least physical effort, water runs clear very quickly, keeps the mess outdoors	Very wasteful of water, requires a garden and a hosepipe
The Long Way (Tap)	Flat dwellers or those on water meters	Least water waste, easy to do indoors, provides total control over sand loss	Very time consuming, requires heavy lifting and manual stirring
The Risky Way (Overflow)	Heavier sand and high-pressure taps	Fast and convenient, minimal manual agitation required	High risk of losing expensive sand, significant risk of blocking indoor plumbing

Method 1: The Easy Way (Garden Hose)

This is the least effort, but it does require a garden. Keep in mind that this method is rather wasteful with water, so you might want to do it where your flowers or grass can benefit from the run-off. I should add that certain sands are just too light to actually hold the hose in place so need more manual agitating.

1. Fill a food-safe bucket around half way with dry sand.
2. Place the bucket outside where water run-off won’t be an issue.
3. Shove a garden hose right through the middle of the sand, right to the bottom.
4. Turn the hose on and watch to make sure the sand itself does not overflow.
5. Leave the water running until it begins to run clear.
6. Move the hose around to agitate the sand, making the water cloudy again.
7. Repeat until no amount of agitation makes the water cloudy.
8. Fill the bucket of sand with water one last time and add some Dechlorinating liquid to the water, as instructed on the bottle. Leave it an hour, or two, to do its job and then it should be good to go.
9. Use a plate over the sand, or a pan lid, to keep the sand from pouring out of the bucket and pour the water away. It’s now ready to add to your aquarium.

Method 2: The Long Way (Bath or Tap)

If you do not have a garden or a hose, you can do this in your bath or a large sink. This is the least wasteful method, but it takes longer.

I suggest doing this in your bath, but make sure to clean it out afterwards: you don’t want anyone’s butt being accidentally exfoliated by sand residue left in the tub!

1. Fill a food-safe bucket half way with sand and place it under the cold tap.
2. Fill the bucket with water, turn off the tap, and stir the sand thoroughly by hand or with a wooden spoon.
3. Pour the cloudy water away, using a plate or pan lid to stop the sand pouring out.
4. Repeat this process over and over until the water remains clear after stirring.
5. Fill the bucket of sand with water one last time and add some Dechlorinating liquid to the water, as instructed on the bottle. Leave it an hour, or two, to do its job and then it should be good to go.
6. Use a plate over the sand, or a pan lid, to keep the sand from pouring out of the bucket and pour the water away. It’s now ready to add to your aquarium.

Method 3: The Risky Way (The Overflow)

I am not strictly promoting this method as you will almost certainly lose some sand over the side of the bucket. It also works best with heavier grains, as fine sand will just float away. It’s quick and easy, though.

1. Fill a bucket one-third full with sand.
2. Turn on the tap and allow it to overflow the top of the bucket.
3. Observe carefully to ensure only the dust, not the sand, is leaving the bucket.
4. Once the overflow runs clear, stir the sand and repeat until it stays clear.
5. Fill the bucket of sand with water one last time and add some Dechlorinating liquid to the water, as instructed on the bottle. Leave it an hour, or two, to do its job and then it should be good to go.
6. Use a plate over the sand, or a pan lid, to keep the sand from pouring out of the bucket and pour the water away. It’s now ready to add to your aquarium.

Note: Very fine, sugar-sized sand is easily lost during this method. If you are using ultra-fine sand, rinse gently and expect some unavoidable loss.

The Painful Reality Of Certain Sands

One of the most frustrating and painful realities of certain sands is that no amount of rinsing will ever completely prevent some cloudiness. I experienced this recently as I started a brand new tank and decided to opt for some sparkling white Bahama’s Oolite sand.

I sat in my garden for over an hour rinsing the sand. I used a hose, rinsed, agitated, emptied, and repeated over and over again. Despite the sand looking completely clean, I decided to rinse a bit more before adding.

I went off to the sink and another half an hour later, I figured I was done. I gently added the sand to my new tank, added water, and surprise surprise it looked like I was whipping up a protein shake. It took nearly two days to settle. Not all sand is created equal and some is harder to rinse than others.

When Should I Add the Sand to the Tank?

Now that you are all done rinsing, you are probably left with the most obvious question: when should I add sand to the tank. Well, it depends on whether you are adding it to a new tank or and established tank.

For a Brand New Tank

Add your rinsed sand before filling the aquarium with saltwater. Place a plate or plastic bag on top of the sand and pour the water slowly onto it. This prevents disturbing the sand bed and reduces cloudiness. We have a simple guide to help you add your sand right here.

Adding Sand to an Existing Tank

If your tank is already running, turn off wavemakers and pumps first. Use a large cup or section of PVC pipe to gently lower sand directly to the bottom rather than pouring it from above. Expect some temporary cloudiness. Some people prefer to do this a little at a time. Maybe a portion each day.

In Short

Rinsing dry sand is really not optional – it is absolutely essential to keeping your reef tank looking immaculate. It is a time consuming task, but it will save you a lot of pain in the long run.

Use your dechlorinating liquid to make the sand safe, and you are ready to move on. Now that your dry sand is in the tank, we can look at the process of making it “live”. We have a guide for turning dry sand into live sand right here so take a look.. Thanks for reading!

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