# How to clean playsand in a large aquarium



## zfarsh (Apr 7, 2011)

Hi All, just wandering how you guys are cleaning your "playsand" (not pool filter sand which is already cleaned) in a large quantity. I just spend about 3 - 4 hours on one bag of 44 lbs, and i think i am not even finished with it (it stgill fogs up in my 5 gallon pale i am using to clean it), and i still have to do 1 to 2 more on my 75 gallon tank. Any help, with images or videos or anything basically would be appreciated. Thanks in advance.


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## coldmantis (Apr 5, 2010)

you basically clean it like any other sand, fill a RONA bucket about 1/2-3/4 way take it outside and stick in the garden hose, turn on the hose and start swirling it around until it becomes decently clear, dump out some of the water and repeat.


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## BillD (Jun 5, 2006)

You will find it much easier if you wash it in small quantities. When doing a bag in a large pail, a lot of the dust stays trapped in the sand so it takes much longer and you use a lot more water.


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## Hitch (Apr 26, 2009)

BillD said:


> You will find it much easier if you wash it in small quantities. When doing a bag in a large pail, a lot of the dust stays trapped in the sand so it takes much longer and you use a lot more water.


+1

When you suspend the sand in a way so that each granule is separated, 1 wash is all you need to sufficiently clean them, as all of the dust is removed in one go since there are no granule clumps that trap dust.

what I find helpful at times is to put some sand into a net, and slosh it in the bucket. the way the sand granules will sift through the holes in the net and makes it easier to resuspend it into single granules.


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## Nick T. (Nov 7, 2008)

I helped my friend clean about 60 lbs of sand for his Marine tank.
We had 2 big buckets (5 Gal BigAls white buckets) to work with. 
Fill one bucket with clean water, dump some dirty sand into it (10%-20% capacity) into the bucket ... work your hand in the sand ... at the same time the hose at the bottom of the bucket turned on feeding clean water ... the light dust particles would rise to the top, flowing out of the tank ... once we would dump the water out of the bucket careful to keep as much of the sand in. Fill it with clean water & the sand still inside ... when the water was clear enough we would put the clean sand into the 2nd bucket ...

Put the clean sand into the tank ... rinse and repeat. The less dirty sand you have to work with the faster you will clean it.


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## fish_luva (Nov 24, 2009)

folks... All the methods all sound pretty good and will ultimately reach the same goal. I do find although that washing smaller amounts will make it easier for sure and this is speaking from experience. I have also used a method which another member on here mentioned as well using the power of the wind.. 

You can actually sift small amounts of material from 1 container to another before washing and that gets rid of the really really fine granules... I found this good for the Black shot material i used....

Good luck


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## zfarsh (Apr 7, 2011)

hi guys, thanks for the comments. I guess one problem i have is that i am in a condo, and i dont have a hoze. Not sure if there is a way to put a hoze in a washroom in a condo. I do the cleaning with a 5 gallon pale, but from your suggestions, i went ahead and bought a rubbermaid container for better surface coverage. Will try to do smaller quantities at a time and see how it goes. How clear do you need to get before you can stop? Cause i can sorta see in the water, but when the sand moves a bit, it fogs up, so i guess that means it is not finished yet.

I am not sure i understand the other suggestions such as wind, or the puting sand in a net and sloaching it. Can you guys pls elaborate on these, and what is being used exactly.


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## Marowana (Jul 28, 2009)

you can unscrew the strainer from your faucet, and then attach a python to wash the sand. phython are worth the money when you are running tanks 75g and up.


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## TBemba (Jan 11, 2010)

I use my laundry tub, but you could use your bath tub and toilet.

I think the wind thing is hard in a condo (unless you can use the balcony) when you pour the dry sand into the bucket you will get some dust.

I would fill up a bucket 1/4 full fill up the bucket with the water in the tub with shower head and swish it around. Most of the dust and crude with rise to the top and run over the top lip of the bucket and you can wash it down the drain. then pour most of the dirt water into the toilet and flush it.

Then add the semi clean sand to the tank and repeat the process until the tank has all the sand you will be using.

This is when a python is really helpful, you can fill and drain the cloudy tank until the water is somewhat clear.

The next step is getting some filter floss from (Walmart Bedding floss, big roll)

Fill canister or filter with filter floss only and in a day or maybe two the water will be pretty clean. 

Remove the floss and replace it with new stuff if your not happy with the water quality and repeat until happy. ( you can swish the sand around if you like)

Then clean the filter when happy and replace with all your media. ( if you leave the media in it can ruin the media with all the sand crude)

good luck


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## zfarsh (Apr 7, 2011)

ok, i just learned today from responses in the forum about the difference between a Pyton and what i was using to drain the water. However, i also read somewhere the Aquaeon Water Charger is better, so was going to buy that instead.


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## vrb th hrb (Feb 20, 2010)

spend the money and get a python, I've heard alot about the lower quality of the aquaeon ones


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## zfarsh (Apr 7, 2011)

In either case, my faucet is not threaded, so will need some kind of adapter, not sure if it comes with it. As for the Python vs Aqueon, I am reading in Amazon from pll owning both that they preffer tha quality of the Aqueon. WIll do some more research


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## Marowana (Jul 28, 2009)

i think the cheapest one is Lee's Ultimate GravelVac. it works fine for me. are you sure all of your faucets are non-threaded?


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## carmenh (Dec 20, 2009)

Are you sure the threads aren't just inside? I think Pythons come with a plastic adaptor, but you can buy metal ones at Home Depot. I always had problems with the plastic ones...



zfarsh said:


> In either case, my faucet is not threaded, so will need some kind of adapter, not sure if it comes with it. As for the Python vs Aqueon, I am reading in Amazon from pll owning both that they preffer tha quality of the Aqueon. WIll do some more research


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## zfarsh (Apr 7, 2011)

Ok here are some update on this:

1) I have used the power of sand on the second bag of sand i had (i have left the first batch alone untill the aqueon/pyton), i like it, i am guessing i will be wasting alot less water this way. Basically, i simply transfered from one bucket to another and then back for about 30 min - 45 min i think (maybe more)... but, in its dry state, still alot of dust would continue coming out if i continue the process, so not sure how long i should be doing this untill switching to water. However, i do think i saved alot of time already doing this.

2) There is no thread on my faucet. The guy from Home Depot told me they no longer have the adapter for this (they used to aparently), but it is possible that Canadian Tire or Lowes has something. If not, i will look into replacing the faucet, so i can use a Aqueon / Python. I hope a simple threaded faucet is bellow 50$.

Let me know what you think.


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## pat3612 (Jan 29, 2008)

Are your threads inside I might have an extra kicking around


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## zfarsh (Apr 7, 2011)

oh my god, i just tried to open the faucet with a better tool to see for threading, and yes, i was able to remove the part at the end where water comes from, and the threads are inside. That said, will the Aqueon come with the adapter?

Hey Pat3612, where are you located, in case i do need the adapter (ie doesnt come with Aqueon and cant get it from Canadian Tire)?


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## zfarsh (Apr 7, 2011)

ok, update is faucet was threaded, so the adapter on the Aqueon works (but want to get a bronze/metalic adapter instead cause i dont think this will last too long).

Question, till which point i need to change water, cause when i move the sand with my hand, it does fog up, but then, with water change and time, it clears, and then if i move again, it fogs up again. I dont know when to stop basically.


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