Cat urine in sand

[Decz]

Ugh, this is so gross!!

I need some help on how to clean my sand. It was temporarily stored in the shop where I work and the owner's cat got into it and used it as a litter box. I've rinsed and rinsed this sand, and I just can't get the smell out. Unfortunately, since it is imported sand from the Marshall Islands, dumping it and getting new sand isn't exactly my first choice...

Any idea's?

 

[saltyc]

try vinegar-cat urine (just like fish poo) breaks down into ammonia, among other things. Vinegar, being on the other end of the ph scale, might cut through it...I'd say let it dry a bit, then go get a couple of gallons of vinegar & saturate it with that & let it sit for a day or so.
Is this aragonite sand? Or just regular silica? Since it is from an island, I'd guess aragonite. Vinegar will probably make it foam a bit...
A weak bleach solution might do the trick, also, but I'd be worried about getting the bleach leached out of the sand, if it is porous. I don't think vinegar will be quite as worrisome.
HTH!

 

[mogurnda]

If it's going into a brand-new tank, the ammonia will help the cycle along. Who knows what other evil lurks in cat pee.

 

[Decz]

no, it's not going into a new tank... I was upgrading tank sizes... I was hoping to put the sand down then move everything from the old smaller tank (old sand included) to the new bigger tank

i'll just keep rinsing/soaking until the water comes out clear and the smell is gone...
gross!

 

[saltyc]

It didn't occur to me before, but like putting freshwater sand in a saltwater tank, I'd bet that the saltwater would kill off any bacteria in the urine. Now whether the urine would leave behind any metallic salts, etc.-who knows??