I did mine recently with a 5 gallon bucket. i only filled about a 1/3 of the way, then i would fill water to the top, and mix thoroughly.
At first, the water goes BROWN and foamy. thats the worst part. when you rinse enough the foam goes away but no matter how much you rinse PLAY SAND, it will ALWAYS have a brown tint to the water after it is freshly (within an hour) stirred up. thats because play sand is made from granules ranging from a "grain of sand" to a normal epoxy-gravel sized rock.
Your best bet is the 5 gallon bucket, rinse your sand until theres no more foam, but the water doesnt GET ANY CLEARER. it will still be a little discolored but thats the smallest pieces of sand flating around.
Turn off your filters when you put your sand in. I left all my fish in when i changed my graval. What i did was use a small drinking cup, fill it with sand and slowly lower it into the tank, minimalizing the "splash" and discoloration in the water. Then i would slowly pour it out of the cup in a layering motion on the tank bottom.
I left my filters off for about 24 hours, then i did a 50% water change twice (thinking it would equal to around 70% water replace
If you want to see the difference in texture from the same play sand bag, check my thread in the Photo Gallery, titled: Play sand, convicts, and catfish