DS Dirt bowl problem

[Fishey bricks]

As the title says, I'm having a problem with my bowl. The dirt cap that I'm using is left over from a brick walkway I built. It's quartz based with lime stone bits. I cleaned the sand of the lime by soaking it in white vinegar for several days. My question is how do I separate the sand from the dirt, because after I got it setup the majority of the water would not penetrate the sand creating a aerobic substance. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Autumnsky]

You might get a sifter like used in baking for flour. You could also use a mesh strainer they come in many different screen sizes. Dollar stores usually have them. I keep one strainer just for my fish tanks for sand.