Thanks all for the advice. I have noticed there is a tremendous amount of fine silt in the sand; makes rinsing a tedious process.
What I have been doing is placing about a pound or two of the sand in a bowl and rinsing several times with chlorinated water, stirring and blasting the sand with the hose. And repeating the process. Then take the same sand and add bleach and water to it, stirring several times and letting it sit for a few hours. I then rinse the sand again with freshwater (non-chlorinated) until the bleach smell is gone, let it sit overnight in freshwater, and then spread out to dry. I plan on rinsing the sand again in small quantities before adding it to my tank.
THe bleach is to kill any organisms or bacteria in the sand. I didn't think about possible changes in the hardness. I will test for this. I don't believe this sand is limestone based. Will also check for organics.
What I have been doing is placing about a pound or two of the sand in a bowl and rinsing several times with chlorinated water, stirring and blasting the sand with the hose. And repeating the process. Then take the same sand and add bleach and water to it, stirring several times and letting it sit for a few hours. I then rinse the sand again with freshwater (non-chlorinated) until the bleach smell is gone, let it sit overnight in freshwater, and then spread out to dry. I plan on rinsing the sand again in small quantities before adding it to my tank.
THe bleach is to kill any organisms or bacteria in the sand. I didn't think about possible changes in the hardness. I will test for this. I don't believe this sand is limestone based. Will also check for organics.
