Gravel

[Philip Altmann]

Can someone tell me how to wash the gravel. I picked it up from a garden centre and it is quite dirty, as a result it makes my fish tank really muddy looking. I hosed the gravel a few times before putting it in the grow beds but it makes the water cloudy.

I am setting up an aquaponics for the first time. 

 

What is a simple way to clean the gravel?

 

Philip

[TCLynx]

George, how much Stalite to a Yard?  A Ton is not necessarily a Yard.

[George]

From their pricing I imagine that a yard is about 1340 pounds or about 2/3 ton.  I intend to pick up my first half ton tomorrow morning.

 

bulk material...........$62.00 per ton

freight/terminal........$31.07 per ton

total........................$93.07 per ton or  $68.23 per CY

George, how much Stalite to a Yard?  A Ton is not necessarily a Yard.

[George]

This is what 1200 lbs of it looks like in a Ranger.  Yes, it's full.  Still leak checking but hope to start washing/grading Stalite very soon.  Conrad Yelvington people in Jax are super nice.

TCLynx said:

George, how much Stalite to a Yard?  A Ton is not necessarily a Yard.

[George]

Phillip

The stalite I bought today was 1/2 inch and it was very dirty with lots of fines - would have preferred 3/4 inch.  I drilled many 3/8 in. holes in the bottom 5 inches or so of a bucket.  I set that bucket onto a block placed into a stock tank of water and shoveled gravel into it (only about 5 inches of gravel), then poured several smaller buckets of water into the gravel bucket.  That agitated the gravel quite a bit and washed out most of the fines.  Then I swirled it a bit in that stock tank and then the next one with cleaner water.  There was an amazing amount of dirt, dust and fines.  It cleaned up nicely and I really like the textured surface - the bacteria should love it.  I have a couple of wheel barrels left to do and expect to finish in the morning and possibly go back for more.  Minus all the fines and dirt it may take a ton to fill up three 100 gal stock tanks.  Good luck

George

[TCLynx]

If a ton is about 1.33 yards, then you will need a little more than a ton of the stuff to fill 2 100 gallon stock tanks.  It takes about a yard of gravel to fill two stock tanks.

[George]

I'll let you know after I wash the next 800 pounds.  If a yard will fill two I expect that a ton will fill three.  We'll see.

[TCLynx]

Well if a ton is 1.33 yards then a ton will fill 2 and then get you a bit over half way with the third.

 

Keep in mind that after a couple months, it will have settled some so you will need to top up the beds later or lower the stand pipes.

[steve]

The easiest way I could think of was to use a cement mixer. Tumble a couple minutes. Dump slowly on a slanted screen while a helper hoses and stirs as its sliding down grade. Slides into a box with screened bottom. Hose some more and it gets quite clean

[TCLynx]

I'm probably repeating myself here but I scoop some gravel into a plant basket (like for water plants) and I swish it in a bin, then swish in the next bin (with cleaner water) then dump into grow bed or bucket to be carried to grow bed.

 

It is very helpful to set up your washing station with the bins high enough that you are not bending over while you are swishing.  If you are constantly bending over while swishing your back will probably revolt before you get very far. Washing gravel with a hose usually means huge waste of water.  Using the swish method I was usually able to wash 100 gallons worth of gravel with only changing out the water in the bins once or twice when the sand in the bottom built up too high.

 

The absolute easiest way to wash gravel though, is to set it up as a workshop/party and get a group of people to do it for you.  Biggest trick is to have several gravel washing stations set up with plenty of baskets/bins and buckets and a couple shovels and you just have to be there to supervise and make sure gravel isn't getting dumped down the gravel guards.  I got 3 beds washed and filled in about two hours that way once.

[George]

You might want to try a different bit.  That hasn't been my experience at all.

Allisyn Wood said:

Yeah, I hate drilling, but worse yet is sanding the inside of those things to get all the little plastic pieces out... Ugh.