# Quickest and Easiest way to wash substrate



## Murray1983 (Jan 3, 2016)

Got 4 big bags of black moon sand to rinse and wash before it goes into the tank . Anyone got any good short cuts to get rid of all the dust . I remember cleaning my Malawi sand for ages before going in and it still had lots of dust once I put the water in . Thanks


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

Ages is best and much better than having to take it out and clean it again.

Fill 5G bucket less maybe 1/3 full. Run hose full blast into the bottom of the bucket, letting it overflow and float away all the dirt. Make sure the hose stays at the bottom. Wait 15 minutes. With a clean sand like PFS, the water should be absolutely crystal clear in the top 2/3 of the bucket, even if you swish the hose around. Then you are clean.

Repeat until you get the crystal water.

I had to do a lot of repeats on Flourite black sand.


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## CjCichlid (Sep 14, 2005)

I go about it the same way as DJ. Not the most fun thing to do but beats having a cloudy tank for months.

I wish there was a better, less wasteful (water) approach but I have yet to come up with one..


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## Murray1983 (Jan 3, 2016)

Brilliant thanks


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## Aaron S (Apr 4, 2015)

There is a less wasteful way for sand substrate but its not as quick as running the hose. I think it took me 2hrs to put 150lbs of sand in my tank...Watch the video below to see how to clean your sand using a 20oz pop bottle. The sand has to be dry when you start doing this or it totally sucks and you should take a different route (FYI).


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## zimmy (Aug 13, 2010)

The landscape yard I buy my sand from has sand that seems to be pre-washed. It costs about $18 for a 100lb bag. I don't wash it at all. Just pour it straight into the tank and there's minimal dust.


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## BillD (May 17, 2005)

The key is to do it in small quantities. Uses much less water and, as odd as it seems, takes less time. With real dirty sand such as black blasting sand I try and air clean it first by pouring it back and forth between a couple of containers, outside, in a breeze. This will blow away much of the dust before you start to wash it.


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## Murray1983 (Jan 3, 2016)

Took me a good while by using the hose at the bottom of the sand and blasting water through it . Did it for about 10 days 3 hours per day


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## dledinger (Mar 20, 2013)

I've tried a few and never found a good way. Running a disposable HOB with a sock over it and periodically stirring the sand and changing the sock is the best I ever came up with. I'll never mess with the garden hose again.


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