How To Clean Sand Before Putting It In Fish Tank

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How would you rinse sand to put in a tank

luke355027355027

Dec 1, 2011

How do you rinse sand I'm starting a 75 gallon tank and would like the know am buying a bulk sized bag of play sand from walmart

wisecrackerz

Dec 1, 2011

sand in a soda bottle! or rinse it in a bucket. either way, don't plan anything else for the day...

luke355027355027

Dec 1, 2011

Thread Starter
#3

sand in a soda bottle! or rinse it in a bucket. either way, don't plan anything else for the day...

yeah I know could you explain the bucket method or give a link that does ive never heard of that one

wisecrackerz

Dec 1, 2011

the "bucket method" isn't really all that glamorous or complex. you put some sand in the bucket. you pour a bunch of water in it, you swish your hands around in it until the water gets all cloudy, then you wait a minute until the actual sand falls to the bottom and it's just the dust that's left suspended. dump the water, outside is better than down your drain, then repeat until the water doesn't really get cloudy any more. Then dump that sand in the tank, and get some more sand and do the rinsing steps again. I don't even know that it's called anything.

Note: the soda bottle is probably going to be easier and less messy.

Mikey

Dec 1, 2011

And as been said. DON'T dump it down the drain!!! Sand is evil EVIL when it compacts. Service calls aren't cheap.

Moneypenny1967

Dec 1, 2011

I used a plastic water trough so the gravel(or sand) can be rinsed with garden hose outside as you can do a larger volume of sand than using a bucket(unless its a really big one)I find the water trough was better because there was a lot more surface area and it was easier to see if the water was clear.Didnt have to worry about it clogging inside pipes either.

Dogfishead

Dec 1, 2011

The best way ive found to rinse sand is the following

You fill a bucket up around half way with water then dump about a half bucket full of sand in after. That way the water keeps all the little particle suspended and the sand sinks to the bottom.

Hold the bucket tilted at an angle and run water from a hose into the bucket for around 5 minutes until you stop kicking up small particles and the water is clear.

Once the water is clear stop the hose and dump as much water out as you can without dumping the sand. Dump the cleaned sand in the tank.

Repeat until youve finished all the sand for your tank. All this was done outside with a garden hose. I put a shutoff valve on the end of the hose so I didnt just have water spraying all the time.

hope that helps

Themehmeh

Dec 22, 2011

Interesting about the bucket, I was told to use a pillowcase. I just did the "bucket" method in the fish tank though. didn't expect it to be as messy as it was and so I had to improvise.

Aquarist

Dec 23, 2011

Good morning,
Sand in bottle method w/video:
Ken

Primus

Dec 23, 2011

Oh wow, that looks like it would take forever. Especially on a larger tank. It was neat though! I always add the sand to a bucket and stir with my hand. Keep adding fresh water until it runs clear. It's a good hand exfoliant!

Everythingzen

Dec 23, 2011

Oh wow, that looks like it would take forever. Especially on a larger tank. It was neat though! I always add the sand to a bucket and stir with my hand. Keep adding fresh water until it runs clear. It's a good hand exfoliant!

You'd be surprised, I think! I used the inverted bottle method with my 75 and it was not as bad as I anticipated. It's neater, tedious, thorough, and gives you lots of time to daydream while you watch it slowly pour out, haha.

wisecrackerz

Dec 23, 2011

You'd be surprised, I think! I used the inverted bottle method with my 75 and it was not as bad as I anticipated. It's neater, tedious, thorough, and gives you lots of time to daydream while you watch it slowly pour out, haha.

I'd bet there'd be an easy way to automate this. In fact, I already have an idea or two on how to scale it up and get it done faster. I'll be putting sand in my 75, and the idea of rinsing the sand out-doors in upstate ny doesn't really appeal to me this time of year...

gremlin

Dec 23, 2011

When I've needed to wash sand, I used our wheelbarrow. Park it on the lawn, put a couple bricks under the back so it slopes away from you. Rinse out the wheelbarrow so it is relatively clean. Dump in the sand. Run the hose in the high side of the barrow and let the dirty water run out the low side. Slush the sand around with your hands to stir up all the dust and dirt. I did a 50 pound bag of sand in about 5 minutes.

Jaysee

Dec 23, 2011

I wash sand in a standard 6 gallon bucket. I put half the bag in, and fill up the bucket with water. I swirl my hand around as it fills. Ideally I will get all the sand suspended in the water. When the bucket is full and the sand settles, I pour out the dirty water. Then repeat. and repeat. and repeat repeat repeat. I do this until the water is completely clean.

crayfish

Jan 16, 2012

I would suggest ust a 2 gallon pail and rinsing under slow flowing water to remove residue.50 lbs takes about 15-20 minutes for clarity and allow filter to clear water

Butterfly

Jan 16, 2012

I use Pool Filter sand and don't rinse it

It's a tiny bit cloudy but running the filter over night with floss in it solves that problem.

good luck with the play sand.
Carol

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