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why does gravel have to be washed b4 going into the tank? i am getting about 8 bags of gravel and i wanted to know if it is going in water n.e way why does it say it needs to be washed.

To remove any excess residue and to cut down on cloudiness of your tank. You don't necessarily have to rinse it, if you don't mind cloudy water for a longer time.

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

There is alot of dust and other particles that settle on the gravel before you buy it, the gravel itself has nothing on it, its the stuff from shipping and stocking.

Also when you buy your bags look at them closely, most of the time there is small holes in the bag, making it easy for stuff to get in.


Hope this helps

Angel Eel

Last edited by angeleel at 21-Mar-2005 17:33

I must admit sometimes I don't rinse mine off before putting it into the tank, but then I usually end up setting up an additional HOV to help remove any extra residue, and using a net to scoop up any of the little floaty things that are there. (What are those little floaty things by the way?) Then after a couple of days and the water has settled down, along with the gravel, I do about a 30-50% water change...that's just me...Trust me I know the feeling I have about 125 lbs of gravel in my new tank, and it was a pain to put in the tank...Though I did rinse all but about 50 lbs of it...Heidi

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

it is better and safer to wash it

i might just keep the tank bare bottom.

You said 8 bags OK what is the total Lt or weight?

That is the easy way out and besides it will look (well up to you) not exactly the best.

It will take some time to wash it all clean correctly to remove all the gunk. It is worth it just do it.

Keith

Last edited by keithgh at 21-Mar-2005 20:32

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It's not that hard to rinse the gravel. Just don't do it all in one day & your tank will be nicer with a gravel bed, than with a bare bottom.




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More than likely would result in a nice cloudy tank, if you don't wash it first.

I do it in a way that is not such a pain. I rinse only one small bag at a time, but it only takes a few minute the way I don it.

I break the bag into a 4 gallon bucket, then in the laundry tub, I turn the water on warm and high power into the bucket, which I have at an angle. I use my hand to keep the gravel moving while the bucket is tipped in a way for the water to flow out of the bucket. This carries away the lighter dirt. I run it for about 2-3 minutes like that, emptying the bucket 2-3 times and it is all done .

I used this same method for flourite, which is really messy. With Flourite, I just increase the time, completely emptying the bucket about 3x as much, in addition. You pretty much know it is done when you are stirring it and the water is clear.

Last edited by Cory_Di at 22-Mar-2005 11:14