Old sand?

[laurenrocksth]

So I just got a 125 gall tank today from craigslist. The tank is acrylic and has been drained for a couple weeks. The tank came with about 100lbs of sand in it. Can I rinse the sand in the tank and then vacuum out the water with my python or do I need to take all of the sand out and clean it in some other way? Also, it came with a light strip that seems kind of small. What are the lighting options for an acrylic tank? It will be fresh water with no plants. This tank is pieced together like a regular glass tank with a wierd top that has 2 large and 2 small rectangular holes in it. I would include a pic but I can't get my camera to work.

 

[Mgamer20o0]

any idea of it was a sw tank or not? i would take the sand out to make it easy to clean. i would go with shop lights for lighting if your not going to add plants.

 

[laurenrocksth]

It previously held pacus so definitely not salt water.

 

[Mgamer20o0]

should be fine getting away with cleaning it with the sand in there. with pythons you only want to go over the top of the water. i would make sure it all gets kicked up and settled again.

 

[legendaryfrog]

Sand is inert and doesnt really gain any of the characteristics of the tank its kept in. A thorough rinse should be enough.