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hey i was just wondering whats the easiest and best way to clean gravel before puttin into your tank??

r0b3y

I pour mine into a colander (big strainer) and rinse it really good. If you have alot of gravel it takes a while but it works

The key is to do it a little bit at a time. If you try to rinse it all at once, you end up trying to lift a VERY heavy container and gravel that wasn't rinsed very well. I believe I rinsed about 4 or 5 pounds of the gravel for my 55g at a time. Of course, I took it at that amount so as not to get a sore back.

The collander would work well, as would just placing some in a bucket and swooshing water through it a few times. Whatever you use, wide and shallow is better than deep. The more the gravel is spread out rather than piled in the container, the easier and better it will rinse.

HTH

><>Dani<><

I agree with the small ammounts!
Remember it's not just the gravel but also the weight of the water .
Any smaller particles that don't get rinsed away are more than likely to cause your water to cloud (@the least) and can often lead to a broken filter by jamming the impeller.

^_^
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I swish the gravel around in a 5 gallon bucket for a few minutes.

I rinse mine in a bucket of warm water for a few minutes & change the water when it gets cloudy.



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r0b3y

I seive mine first to remove all the fines this also allows you to remove any extra unwanted bit.
I place small amounts in a bucket and wash it out with the hose. I keep flushing until the water is running clear. As we are on water restrictions do it on the lawn if you have one or the garden.

Keith

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thanks for the help guys.. yea keith i'm always useing the water from water changes etc. on the garden..

Hi i'm Rob and i'm a water saver!! (if anyone has seen the vic watersaving adds they'll know what i'm talking about)

will be useing these ideas thank you

r0b3y

I use the collender thingy you use to drain pasta and what not. a little bit at a time, then I empty it into a small trash can, and let the water run in the bathtub into it, as I wait for the next batch, rinse it, again empty into trash can with the water running still...I do this till the trash can is full, it is not too heavy--but heavy enough, or I run out of gravel...have fun, and play some music while you're doing it...Heidi

"I've got a great ambition to die of exhaustion rather than boredom." Thomas Carlyle

When I cleaned my gravel before putting it in my 125, I took an old rubbermaid tube cut holes in the bottom of it for the water to drain out took it outside poured the gravel in a couple of bags at a time and used the garden hose to clean it.