Rinsing, & rinsing, & rinsing sand!

I have CaribSea aragonite sand. I have a few bags of the .5-1mm size and a few bags of the 1-2mm size. I started rinsing this sand the other day, a bag at a time, and it took hours to get 1 bag to have clear water running out during the rinse. A fellow hobbyist told me put the sand in a 5gallon bucket, stick the hose in it, and stir it until the water is running out of the bucket clear. Is this good advice, or should I be doing something else? It just seems like it takes longer than it should. I know this hobby requires patience, but this seems a little much.

 

I have never rinsed their sand. Just put a bag or bowl down to catch the water while you fill your tank, and the water will not be cloudy.

 

See, that's what I thought, but the other hobbyist said that if I do that the water will cloud up and I will have phosphate issues at first when the powerheads are turned on. He has been in the hobby for a long time and promises that this will happen. But I like what you're saying.

 

I rinse. Don't like the mess in my tank if I don't.

Your above method will work. I find a low thread count pillow case also works well. I don't care for the sandstorm with every tiny disturbance, if one doesn't rinse.

 

on my latest build I went from BB to a sort of mix of small grain and a little larger grain, all of it was dry. I didnt rinse it one bit. i just put it, put my rocks (but made sure they were touching the bottom glass) and the started pumping my water in. I just made sure to pour the water over the rocks. It did cloud up but only for 12 hours or so and even then it wasnt so bad.

 

Ya, but all that debris is still in your tank, it's just settled waiting to be disturbed.

Either way it won't hurt your tank, but the dust is undesireable, IMO.

 

I like this pillow case idea. How long did it take you to rinse like this?

 

I'm going to say 15 minutes, but I have an incredibly poor sense of time. Small batches make it easier.