Caribsea seaflor special grade aragonite - wash before putting in the tank??

[Matt]

I'm going to be doing a substrate change quite soon. Do I need to wash this
Aragonite before putting it into my tank???

 

[Mike]

Is it the live sand? if so no, normal sand yes, best to rinse.

 

[Matt]

Wee-Man thanks man. Rinse in fresh or salt water?

 

[Rory]

No don't wash it. Just put in in carefully and clean your skimmer a lot.

 

[Matt]

Rory: why not wash it?? I have a nano tank and the skimmer isn't the most amazing thing in the world. I do run filter floss before the skimmer I could use to catch little bits.

Would the "dust storm" be bad for the fish in any way?

 

[Rory]

The corals will love it and it shouldn't affect the fish. You can use filter floss if you like. Otherwise just do a little bit at a time.

 

[Matt]

What would be in the unwashed substrate that the corals would like?

 

[Rory]

Um, aragonite... ie. calcium carbonate++

 

[Mekaeel]

doesnt this product come with a shelf life?if yes,i dont think it needs washing

 

[Matt]

The Arag-alive products have a shelf life as they supposedly contain denitrifying bacteria, but the normal aragonite has no shelf life

 

[Mekaeel]

mmh if it was me,i will wash it,as lots of Aragonite and CaCo3 media contain Po4 and should be rinsed in RO.not too sure about Caribsea though,maybe Liaquat can give us more input

 

[Matt]

Cool i've sent him a PM

 

[Reef Maniac]

Unwashed it will cause your water to turn milk white for a few days. If you have corals & fish in the tank you should thus wash it (especially if you plan on adding a large volume of sand).

If you are starting a new tank (or if you can remove the inhabitants for a week or two) it would be better to add it unwashed, as the very fine dust is actually tremendously beneficial to your DLSB - it just needs some time to sink to the bottom (anyone heard of Miracle Mud...). Also, after this period, you should not disturb the surface of the sand bed for another few weeks, until the 'mud' has been worked into the sand bed, and/or become covered with a bio-film (bacteria and algae) - after that, the water should not become cloudy even if the sand is disturbed.

Hennie

 

[Mekaeel]

great info once again,thanks Hennie