Proper way to rinse dry sand???

[rkesling]

How do you rinse dry sand? Again, pardon my ignorance but everything I have that I could rinse it in the holes are too big and the sand will go right through. Sorry if this is a stupid question. Have had no issues rinsing crushed coral but the sand

. I usually use live sand but am doing a 75 for a FOWLR and want to use a black sand for substrate.
thanks

 

[autofreak44]

if i were you i would put it in a bucket and put a hose all the way to the bottom, turn it on low, stir it up and all the dust and crap should float up and out... just an idea though, ive never done it

 

[acrylic51]

In the past I've used a kitchen strainer (not sure you actually spell it), and then I took a pair of pantyhose and put around the outside of the strainer......I still had some spillage, but not alot.

 

[hammerhed7]

I put the sand in a 5 gal bucket, fill the bucket a quarter of the way with sand, then either put the bucket into a laundry sink, or use a hose to fill the bucket while you stir the sand with your hands, the dust and silt will cloud the water, when the bucket is full, empty some of the water and repeat until the water is clearer, you will never be able to get all of it out, and it will still cloud the tank, but if you rinse it good it will clear up much faster.

 

[m0nk]

Originally Posted by Hammerhed7
I put the sand in a 5 gal bucket, fill the bucket a quarter of the way with sand, then either put the bucket into a laundry sink, or use a hose to fill the bucket while you stir the sand with your hands, the dust and silt will cloud the water, when the bucket is full, empty some of the water and repeat until the water is clearer, you will never be able to get all of it out, and it will still cloud the tank, but if you rinse it good it will clear up much faster.
Yeah, I use this method as well. Ending up with some cloud in the tank isn't a bad thing, either, if you use aragonite sand, since it buffers the tank with a good bit of calcium and helps pH.

 

[peef]

You might want to mix in a bit of the argonite sand with your black. Black sand isn't calcerous and won't buffer at all. Just a thought.

 

[calvertbill]

Originally Posted by m0nk
Yeah, I use this method as well. Ending up with some cloud in the tank isn't a bad thing, either, if you use aragonite sand, since it buffers the tank with a good bit of calcium and helps pH.
This is the method I used with 300 lbs. of aragonite sand. The cloudiness lasted for maybe 72 hours before becoming crystal clear and m0nk is right, I needed to add very little in the way of buffers. The Cynaria lacrymalis are totally happy in the tank and I've read that they are the best barometers of water quality.

 

[xdave]

I put a hose in the bottom of a bucket in the basement sink. I fill it with the sand and turn the water on pretty low. When it starts to run clear I jiggle the bucket until it clouds up again. I repeat until the jiggling part takes too long.

 

[rkesling]

Thanks for all the help. I will be rinsing sand in about an hour or so. I appreciate it!