How to Wash Sand

[Random Aquarist]

Alright, I've tried every way I can imagine to wash this sand. How am I supposed to wash this stuff? Right now, all of it is in a bucket filled with tap water in the garage. Should I just stick the hose in and leave it running?

 

[kar93]

I wouldnt use tapwater incase it contains anything that the sand will absorb if you go on to Melevs Reef there is a page on his website about it.

 

[down and outman]

I checked up on Melev's reef, and he did the same thing I do. Take it outside, stick a hose in it and flush it out till the water runs clear. I keep working the hose down into the sand to get all the dirt out of it. Lean it on it's side to drain and let it dry out. You can do this for old sandbeds as well. Sand is sand right?
Just don't do what I did when I first set up my first tank. Dumped the sand in without rinsing it. What a mess! Took a week of filtering with a HOB biowheel filter to clear the water! Then if I touched the sandbed, dirt explosion. LOL!!!

 

[Random Aquarist]

Well, I ran a hose in the bucket for 45 minutes. The water in the bucket was opaque, but the water running out was clear. Am I done?

 

[down and outman]

The cleaner you get it, the better.

 

[jjmcat]

Re: How to Wash Sand

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12359936#post12359936 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Random Aquarist
Alright, I've tried every way I can imagine to wash this sand. How am I supposed to wash this stuff? Right now, all of it is in a bucket filled with tap water in the garage. Should I just stick the hose in and leave it running?

This is all I have ever done.

 

[Random Aquarist]

How exactly do I drain water out of a bucket that has approx. 150lbs of sand in it and is half-way full of sand alone?

 

[kar93]

I would always use RO/DI but i just dont trust tap but obviously people use it often.

 

[Quis]

You can use tap water to wash sand. Just make sure that you get the excesive water out before you put it in the tank.

 

[RyanMKintz]

I did it in small amount in a 5 gallon bucket about a third full, with a garden hose and would stir the sand with my hand. I did this for about for ten minutes and was fine. As for draining I put a old t-shirt over the bucket to act like a strainer. good luck

 

[Random Aquarist]

Thanks guys. My sand dried yesterday, and I'll add it to the tank during a water change probably this next weekend.

 

[stevedola]

when I wash my sand I would rinse with a hose until it ran clear then take some water change H20 and mix it up with that a few times...then drain off as much as I can. never had a problem. I just figured that washing out the tap water was a decent idea with extra water I was only going to toss out anyways. just my 2 cents.

 

[Saltwater_Dog]

Do you just let it dry in the bucket or do you use some other method. I was just given 60lbs of live sand from a tank that was torn down. I wont need it for a month or so. I would like to dry it out.

 

[stevedola]

dry it out but wash it before you use it to get rid of those extra dead organics

 

[illal]

i usually put the sand in an old pillow case and run water through it till it comes out clear

 

[down and outman]

Let it dry in the bucket. Wash it if it hasn't been washed or it will stink.

 

[Saltwater_Dog]

THanks