Update Pool filtered sand

[neontetra0131]

I took everyone's advice and took the sand back out and rinsed it again! And now look at it looks amazing now clear with just a little bit of cloudy but I have both my filters on so hopefully in a couple hours it will be clear clear. Now to wait till Friday to get my cichlids and black skirt tetras. o cat forget about the Cory's cats. Thanks for y'all advice

 

[mattcham]

Gtz. It takes me about 50 rinses (many hours) to clean my Carrib Sea Flora Max gravel to my liking. On initial rinse the water is opaque brown like chocolate milk. I hear Carrib Sea Eco Complete gravel requires almost no rinsing.

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[Abe86]

Gtz. It takes me about 50 rinses (many hours) to clean my Carrib Sea Flora Max gravel to my liking. On initial rinse the water is opaque brown like chocolate milk. I hear Carrib Sea Eco Complete gravel requires almost no rinsing.

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You're right about the eco complete. That's what I've in my tanks.


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[jennandjuicetm]

What is the easiest method to rinse the sand?

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[Mebbid]

What is the easiest method to rinse the sand?

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Honestly, I don't even bother rinsing the pool filter sand I get. Add it to the tank, fill with water, do a 100% water change, and then run a filter with filter floss. Always worked perfectly at clearing up the water without any cloudyness issues later on.

 

[jetajockey]

I put it in a bucket and run water in it, stir the sand around and dump off the water, refill, repeat a few times. PFS comes clear pretty quickly.

I've even just stuck the water hose in the bag and rinsed it that way as well.

 

[MeCasa]

Honestly, I don't even bother rinsing the pool filter sand I get. Add it to the tank, fill with water, do a 100% water change, and then run a filter with filter floss. Always worked perfectly at clearing up the water without any cloudyness issues later on.

Big difference in qualities of pool filter sand. The AquaQuartz from Ace Hardware needs no cleaning and the Quikcrete sold at Lowe's is terrible. I have a pool and the stuff at Lowe's cakes up while the AquaQuartz is a courser sharper sand that works better for both the pool and the aquarium floor.

The AquaQuartz is good product and it costs the same as the bad stuff. Read the reviews at Lowe's, I'll bet I'm not the only one that hates that sand.

 

[sidgolding]

View attachment 237713
I took everyone's advice and took the sand back out and rinsed it again! And now look at it looks amazing now clear with just a little bit of cloudy but I have both my filters on so hopefully in a couple hours it will be clear clear. Now to wait till Friday to get my cichlids and black skirt tetras. o cat forget about the Cory's cats. Thanks for y'all advice

Your mixing black skirt tetra's and cichlids? Let me know how you get on with that because cichlids are mega aggressive and skirt tetra's are nice and fancy for them to take chunks out of. But that said that's my understanding, if that's not the case can you let me know so I can look to do this lol. I have rams with mine but not propa cichlids.


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[Angela1108]

I haven't used sand before but I am currently debating sand or Eco complete for my planted tank. During my research on one site/review someone had mentioned using a pillow case to put the sand in to rinse it.

Obviously I can't say from personal experience if it worked or not but it makes sense that it would


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[Sillyfishies]

The best way to rinse sand, is to
1) fill bottle with sand
2)set in aquarium right side up
3) wait until it stops bubbling
4) turn it over and shake the sand out.
5) turn it back over and take out of aquarium.
6)discard the water.

When you dump out the sand, all the floaty cloudy sand stays in the bottle.

 

[mattcham]

The best way to rinse sand, is to
1) fill bottle with sand
2)set in aquarium right side up
3) wait until it stops bubbling
4) turn it over and shake the sand out.
5) turn it back over and take out of aquarium.
6)discard the water.

When you dump out the sand, all the floaty cloudy sand stays in the bottle.

Interesting. I'll have to try that.

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[Sillyfishies]

Interesting. I'll have to try that.

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I did that in an established tank and got next to no cloudiness.

 

[mattcham]

I have a tank that needs another 120 pounds of gravel. Scooping it one bottle at a time might be too much work in this situation.

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[Sillyfishies]

Gravel doesn't really need to be rinsed. But if you need to do a large amount of sand, use a gallon jug. And trust me, this method will still be a lot easier then cleaning by hand.

 

[mattcham]

I'll get a wide mouthed gallon jug from the dollar store and give it a try. I figure it will be 6 or 7 scoops per 20 pound bag, times 6 bags. Thanks for the tip.

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[Sillyfishies]

I'll get a wide mouthed gallon jug from the dollar store and give it a try. I figure it will be 6 or 7 scoops per 20 pound bag, times 6 bags. Thanks for the tip.

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I did a 50 pound bag with a 2 liter bottle and it was nothing, so with a gallon jug it should be cake.

 

[Retired_AF]

To rinse the sand in my son's tank I used a water hose and a 5-gallon bucket. I put sand about 1/4 the depth of the bucket, set the bucket on the back deck and tilted it with a piece of 4x4, then turned the water on high and stuck the hose in the bucket to where the end was forcing water deep into the sand. The loose sediment swirled in the water and spilled over the top and onto the ground and the heavier coarse sand sank to the bottom of the bucket. When the water ran clear we put the sand in the tank and started again. We did a 3-inch sand bed in his 75-gallon tank in about 4 hours. No cloudiness, no muss, no fuss.