question about gravel washing

[cage]

hi everyone

i soaked and washed the pea gravel for a few days now. but it seems no matter how much i wash it the water would only come out light grey color. will the fish be ok with it or should i keep trying till it becomes completely clear? i wonder how the people with big system wash those heavy gravel without having back pain

[keith_r]

i've seen a couple of interesting gravel washing vids..
if you've rinsed a couple times now, i'd go ahead and put it in your system, you can use a sock filter on your growbed outlets until the water clears up

[davidstcldfl]

Hi Cage, Washing gravel can be a pain...literally.... :P I don't think there really is an 'easy' way to do it. I have heard of people using a cement/stucco mixer....that probably gets it 'cleaner', but you still have to handle it.


I was lucky...some of my river rock I got, was from someone that had an AP system....it was already clean. The rest that I bought was 'pretty clean'.
I already had built a 'sifter' for dirt. Just a wooden frame with hardware cloth on the bottom. I added small amounts of stone and gave it a quick rinse with a garden hose. I didn't get it perfect....I have 'city' water, so I have to also pay for sewage on the water I do use....

Washing gravel, was one reason I use mostly floating rafts...

[rfeiller]

Washing a cubic yard or too is painful. I don't worry about getting all of it out. The remainder of the dust will settle to the bottom of the grow bed, sump, and fish tank. You can the siphon out the sump and fish tank.

[urbanfarmer]

Just make sure you check the source of the gravel. If the dust is not toxic (in other words just crushed rock) then I wouldn't even bother washing it. I don't wash my hydroton clay balls (been washing them all my life, don't need to wash anymore ). I just let the dust settle wherever it settles on its own.