Has anyone bought gravel from a Home depot or lowes and put it in your tank? I just bought a 120 gallon and wanted to put gravel for substrate I was going to buy some from Home depot and rinse it out . is this a bad Idea? This stuff is just expensive anywhere else.
Gravel?
- Thread starter MN Fish
- Start date
Yes, I rinsed it thoroughly. I used a plastic strainer and hosed it down to remove dust then put it in a bucket and rinsed some more.
Hello; I clean gravel by putting about a half to a gallon or so in a five gallon bucket. ( The stronger you are the more you can clean at one time.) I use a garden hose with the spray head adjusted to the strongest jet possible. I spray into the gravel untill the water covers the gravel a bit while moving the water jet around to stir up the gravel. While the sediment and dirt is still stirred up, I then use an section of broom handle with a smooth rounded end (or any three or four foot pole with a smooth end that will not cut the inside of the bucket. ) to stir the gravel some more. I quickly pour off the suspended sediment and dirt. The process is repeated untill the gravel is clean enough to suit me. I then dump the clean gravel into a second clean bucket.
You will need two buckets clean enough to use for an aquarium, a garden hose with an adjustable spray nozzel, a short stick, something to scoop gravel with and a strong back.
I have used colanders and strainers of various sizes and materials. They work fine, but seem to take much longer and use a lot more water. Over the years and after most likely cleaning tons of gravel, the method described is the one I have used more than any other.
You will need two buckets clean enough to use for an aquarium, a garden hose with an adjustable spray nozzel, a short stick, something to scoop gravel with and a strong back.
I have used colanders and strainers of various sizes and materials. They work fine, but seem to take much longer and use a lot more water. Over the years and after most likely cleaning tons of gravel, the method described is the one I have used more than any other.
This is vigoro pea gravel from Home Depot. I had to wash it a lot but the whole tanks worth was only $19. (5 bags)
I got my Pea Gravel from the LFS when I noticed someone Mis-Priced it for $0.99 a Bag when they were supposed to be $19.99 a bag. Regardless even that stuff was Too dirty for my taste and I had to wash it repeatedly. I ended up pouring it all out in the driveway on a tarp and blasting it with the hose until it rinsed clear.
Mike
Mike
I just did my 150 with pea gravel from Home Depot. I rinsed it in a 5 gallon bucket until it rinsed clear, then after it was in the tank I topped with water and let it sit for a day. Next day I did a gravel cleaning with a siphon like a regular tank cleaning. This got rid of the rest of the silt. It was cheap, only $1.99 per 50lb bag. Petsmart is right next door and sells the same stuff for $12.99 for only a 20lb bag.