How do you rinse sand?

[southpaw]

I just went through this with a 10g I setup with Tahitian Moon sand....rinsed it a dozen times and still clouded my tank when I filled it up.... It went away after a day or so and is crystal clear now.... You should be fine.

 

[clawlan]

Although I haven't had many people have the same experience as me, I have the same problem with pool filter sand. I normally just take the time to rinse it like crazy. The times that didn't get clear enough, I would get things cleared up after a full water change or two. It's a pain, but it's worth it when it comes out the way you like it.

Yea, Ill have to see what happens and then do a few water changes. Hope the sand debris doesnt' mess with the filter impeller...

 

[clawlan]

I just went through this with a 10g I setup with Tahitian Moon sand....rinsed it a dozen times and still clouded my tank when I filled it up.... It went away after a day or so and is crystal clear now.... You should be fine.

Thanks, that makes me feel a little better....

 

[charlie4486]

moon sand is great. i have it in 2 of my tanks and when i get the courage (and MONEY) I'm going to switch out my gravel in my 55. It will settle and when it does it's totally worth it.

 

[loaches r cool]

ok, i tried the bucket method and it will literally take hours upon hours. I am going to run to the store and grab some panty hose and maybe silk fabric.

60 pounds? Shouldnt take but a couple hours swishing with a 5 gal bucket, if that.

Now try 400 pounds of pfs... that I determined to be futile and decided to buy a Vortex Diatom XL and just dump the sand in the tank. Took a few days of stirring it up to get all the dust suspended in the water, but eventually the diatom filter cleared it up.

 

[johnlarson66]

I also rinsed mine in a bucket. I can't remember how many bags I used on my 200 gal, but it was a lot. When I put it in I freaked out. My water was cloudy, so cloudy you could not see in there at all.

I didn't have anything else in there, and it settled down pretty quick. Now that it is settled it looks great.

It rinsed and cleared up a lot better than the flourite for my planted tank.

 

[Matthew_Machine]

Both play sand and Tahitian sand I just put some in a 5 gallon bucket out side with a hose on. A couple of lbs at a time, let it run and kept stirring it around. It got fairly clean. You can't really get all the dust out, but enough to keep the filter from overloading.

 

[stormomi]

I used Tahitian Moon Sand in my new 29 gallon. At first I was trying the bucket method and it wasn't a pretty sight. So didn't do many rinses. Water was cloudy but now it's crystal clear. Took about a week to clear up.

 

[nonregla]

I was trying to clean some play sand last weekend.

My solution:

Sand in an unused 5 gal tank next to kitchen sink.
A siphon hose clamped to the side and draining into the sink.
The extendable faucet thingie set on spray and filling the tank with tepid water at a rate to replace the water lost to siphon.
1 colander
1 small drinking cup
1 three-year-old with a thing for playing in water given free reign to play with cup, sand and colander.

I sat and read a book nearby and in no time at all, the sand was dust-free. She loved picking up the sand and dropping it back into the water, playing with it under water, above the water, etc. etc. What you and I may think of as a back breaking chore was playtime for her.

She also loves to clean toilets!

For especially large jobs, I'd consider a bigger bucket placed in the bathtub. She'd have a ball!!

 

[Sploke]

I've heard paint straining bags will work well too.