Cleaning Sand

[dusty2]

Hi All, What's the best way to clean sand before placing inthe tank. I would think you'd need some type of very fine filter.

 

[mattlee]

put some sand, not too much in a bucket and hold a hose pipe under the sand until the water flowing over the side of the bucket is clear and contains no dirt/dust etc. the more sand you put in the bucket the longer it takes, i found it easier and quicker to do say a quater to a third of a bucket of sand for each clean. make sure you give it a good clean so very little dirt enters the tank.

 

[rebrn]

If you only have a small amount to clean, you can do it in your sink or bathtub. I just finished switching out my gravel for sand today in a 5 gallon and a 12 gallon tank. I put about have the amount of sand I need for the tanks (around 3 cups) in a bowl and set it in the kitchen sink, let the tap run over it and mixed the sand up with my hands to dislodge dust, debris etc. It worked really well, took about 15 - 20 minutes for each batch of sand I washed so about 40 minutes total time, but did the job well. I did have some minor clouding as I added the water back into the tank it stirred up the sand, but it completely cleared in less then an hour.

 

[mattlee]

put a plate in the tank on top of the sand and pour the water onto the plate when refilling this way minimum sand is disturbed and the water stays clear so less waiting time for sand to sink etc. taking your time with refilling and cleaning the sand saves less waiting time and gives a cleaner tank and a cleaner filter..... well worth it in my eyes

 

[raptorrex]

I've just changed to sand, after years of gravel substrate. I poured the full 15 kg into a container, then filled it up with tap water, i the agitated the sand. i repeated the process several times. then i scooped up the sand in a small container. this i put, slowly in the tank. i then poured the sand, from the container (keeping it no more than an inch or so off the tank bottom) where i wanted it. i did this, until all the sand was used. the water did not get too cloudy. also any (floating) debris was scooped out with the same container. the whole thing took 1 hour, from start to clear water.