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Hi

I am changing a tank to shellies. As such I need to replace the gravel with coral sand (is that the term, I get mixed up!)... So I have removed the gravel from the tank.

BUT what do I do with it? It is all soggy and just sitting in a bucket lined with a shopping bag. How do I dry it out so I can store it. (never know when I may want barter or do another setup)

I live in a unit (apartment)

So what now?

*sending up a flare*

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~~~ My fish blow kisses at me all day long ~~~

ummm, hair dryer? LOL LOL that was totally random but it might work....

29gall-2 bolivian rams, 6 neon tetra, 4 lemon tetra, 2 lamp eye tetra, 6 black skirt tetra(which are rescues...long story, but finding good home soon), 4 zebra danio 10gall, pretty much nothing but plants....2gall-female betta
1gall-female betta

A bit too random.... I don't have a hair dryer. Well, I do but I didn't bring it with me when I moved house... limited space

Any other suggestions?

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~~~ My fish blow kisses at me all day long ~~~

Well, you can take an inexpensive plastic storage bin, the type made for wrapping paper are long and wide and spread the gravel out in it and it should dry out. You may need to stir it up a couple of times, but that should work out. You probably should clean it as best as you can before placing in the container for drying though. It will eventually dry in the bucket if you keep mixing it up, but it will take quite a while.

Jim

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Water, taken in moderation, cannot hurt anybody. -- Mark Twain

You could try to dump out as much water as possible (maybe strain it through a colander) and then set the gravel out on a tarp to dry. If you have an outdoor area available, that would be ideal. Otherwise maybe just set the tarp in a room with a fan or a window and try and aerate things as much as possible. The more the gravel is spread out on the tarp, the quicker it will dry off.

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And when he gets to Heaven, to Saint Peter he will tell: "One more Marine reporting, Sir! I've served my time in Hell."

Good ideas.... bucket is a bit heavy for me to lift.... but when I get it home I will give it a go. Need sunny weather and a big container....

*looks around for something to borrow from work*

Thanks guys

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~~~ My fish blow kisses at me all day long ~~~

I've just changed my gravel to sand in my 4ft.

I bought one of those large lidded containers with wheels from crazy clarks - dont know if you have that store where you are? The containers are not very expensive. I have just left it in there to dry and as was mentioned, stir the gravel up every couple of days.

Its been in their for about 4 weeks now and is starting to dry out quite nicely.

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Those who say they cant, Never will !!!

I will do that... wanted to avoid spending money is all... might start with a copy box from work... free and cardboard will soak up some of the water.... cheap SKATE!

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~~~ My fish blow kisses at me all day long ~~~

One way of accelerating the process, if you are intent on simply storing the gravel dry and don't care about any bacteria living on it, is to boil it. This may sound paradoxical, but it works as follows.

You boil the gravel for a decent length of time,then drain off as much water as possible. The gravel will still be hot, and will take time to dump the heat to the surroundings. As it does so, it'll heat up any remaining water and accelerate the evaporation process.

Another possible method is to put the gravel in a net bag with a suitably fine mesh so that none of the gravel falls out, put it in a spin dryer, and spin dry it. Best do it in batches though if you do that, because if you dump 40 lbs of gravel into a spin dryer all in one go you'll wear out the motor!


Panda Catfish fan and keeper/breeder since Christmas 2002

When i needed to dry gravel at work, i would just spread it out on a screen top made for reptiles/rodents/amphibs and put it out in the sun, stirring it a bit here and there. Air from all directions!!

I don't think I will boil, hang, spin etc. I will simply spread over newspaper in an old copy box and let the Sol do the work.



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~~~ My fish blow kisses at me all day long ~~~