wash gravel?

[ryan]

hey guys i finally got my base fert and now i need to ask you all if i should wash my gravel?
i got 2tubs of sera base fert and 1 tub of taiwan base fert.
40 kg of gravel... its aquabias i think...
should i wash it first or just dump it in?
it says ready to use but usually you guys just wash it anyway right?
its really tempting to throw in cuz its easier to pour dry gravel rather than wet clumpy ones...
thanks again! []

[budak]

It's really up to you if you want the exercise....

I thought this is your 4th planted tank already?

[szesteve]

Hi! I'm not too sure about the names of the gravel you quoted. The gravel I use is from LFS and the diameter is close to Lonestar.

I do wash the gravel as it's quite dirty. But then again my tank is only 2ft so there's only 20kg of gravel.

If I were to use more than 30kg of gravel, I'll just buy Dennerle so I don't have to wash...in my opinion LFS gravel very dirty...

[ryan]

hehe!
yeah it is!
but if u want to count the rescapings(from scratch) then 6th!
but won't the water be damn coudy?

[budak]

You will have to be your own judge of that - for some things in life (and in aquascaping) only the beholder knows best the path to tread.

----------------
but won't the water be damn coudy?
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[eggz]

Ugggh, I think fresh gravel from the LFS is pretty dirty. Ok washing gravel is probably the most boring thing about setting up a tank, but I noticed that at the first rinse, the water is dirty man! And sometimes you see that foamy stuff, looks like the stuff that collects in the protein skimmers in marine tanks....[]


eggz

[ryan]

ooh boy this is gonna suck![]
i hate washing gravel!
i feel lazy already!

[mrs budak]

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On 11/22/2002 9:49:16 PM

hey guys i finally got my base fert and now i need to ask you all if i should wash my gravel?
i got 2tubs of sera base fert and 1 tub of taiwan base fert.
40 kg of gravel... its aquabias i think...
should i wash it first or just dump it in?
it says ready to use but usually you guys just wash it anyway right?
its really tempting to throw in cuz its easier to pour dry gravel rather than wet clumpy ones...
thanks again! []
----------------

Uhh.... why don't you NOT wash the gravel, and then tell us if you would wash it when you set up your 5th tank?

[hwchoy]

Steve, you can't be having 20kg of gravel in your 2ft, it would have come to 8cm thick!!

20kg is one pack of lonestar leh!

[hwchoy]

ryan, I'm not sure you should use 40kg of gravel. Three tubs of fert, at most 30kg? You shouldn't even have equal amount of gravel and fert. Either you have too much gravel or too little fert. Suggest you do your volume calculations again!

[hoppinghippo]

hahaha once again Mrs Budak has succintly put her point across!! heh heh.... quite farny.... but good point!

Ryan: what you can do is wash the gravel then keep it in a pail, cover up and let it dry for a few days then you can have your dry, clean easy to use gravel you want, duh. tho I still prefer Mrs Budak's way better.

Dennerle no need to wash? how come? and side note but where sells cheapest?

[loupgarou]

at least you aren't washing 40kg of flourite.

in anycase, teo's and gan's tank did not wash gravel (imaging washing gravel for a 9ft tank.bwhahaha

[vinz]

It really depends on what gravel you buy. AquaColisa is 'clean' i.e. all gravel, no detritus, but has a lot of sediments that clouds the water and forms foam on the water surface.

The Lonestar used for Teo's tanks are very clean... the water was hardly cloudy.

[sherchoo]

Used lonestar for my 4ft.. did not bother to wash as I feel it's 'clean' enough. Not sure what you got, if it's lonestar, you can forego washing process.

[FC]

Hi Ryan,

1 suggestion. Try washing 5 kg of what you bought and then judge for yourself if the rest should be cleaned up.

[ryan]

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On 11/23/2002 2:27:22 AM

Hi Ryan,

1 suggestion. Try washing 5 kg of what you bought and then judge for yourself if the rest should be cleaned up.
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yeah thats smart...
i think i'll do that...
my stupid fert only fills up like 2cm of my tank!
GRrRR!
and i already spent 70 bucks on the three tubs of base fert!
i think i'll wait for jbl's stock to come in!
this base fert business is irritating and EXpensive!
[]

[ryan]

Hwchoy...

huh then how?
what should it be?
3 tubs of base fert...
i have NO idea how many liters that is...
its a 4' by 1.5' by 1.5' tank
and i have 40 kg of gravel...
sigh...

[hwchoy]

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On 11/23/2002 3:07:34 AM

Hwchoy...

huh then how?
what should it be?
3 tubs of base fert...
i have NO idea how many liters that is...
its a 4' by 1.5' by 1.5' tank
and i have 40 kg of gravel...
sigh...
----------------

geez Ryan, you got study physics right? (sorry don't mean to patronise)

the volume of each tub of fert would be (roughly assuming cylindrical tub) (diameter×diameter)/4 × 3.14159 × height right? using cm and divide this by 1000 gives you volume in litres.

now your area of tank (in cm) is 120 × 45 = 5400. So to get 1 cm of fert you will need 5.4 litres. So if you want 5 cm (which is not a lot) you will need 27 litres.

Now 40kg of gravel (assuming 1.3kg per litre which is roughly correct for lonestar) you will get about 30 litres. If you dump all in you will have close to 6cm of gravel. I think 3cm is quite good enough, which means 20kg. You probably would do well with just one 22kg pack of lonestar !!



maybe you get exchange one pack of gravel for ferts?

[tawauboy]

the aquacolisa gravel comes in 10kg packs.
it has lots of small dusty particles and if you pour a bag into a pail from some height, you'll get a mini dust storm.
if you are short on base fertilizer, maybe you can just put base fertilizer on the areas where you are going to have heavy root feeders. this will leave some areas of you tank without base fertilizer. not sure if this is worth a try.

[szesteve]

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On 11/22/2002 11:54:00 PM

Steve, you can't be having 20kg of gravel in your 2ft, it would have come to 8cm thick!!

20kg is one pack of lonestar leh!
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Actually I started off with 20kg of gravel & no base fert then over the months I rescape here and there then I think now left 10kg cos I use up all my gravel and also have 1 inch of base fert.