Should I clean the gravel before adding it to aquarium?

Question

I bought some artificial gravel for my aquarium.It looks a bit dusty in the packet.Are the fine dusty particles minerals or dirt? Should I clean it before using it in my aquarium?

Answer 1

Most definitly rinse the gravel in a strainer, or poke a bunck of holes in the bag with a fork, open the top and rinse like that.

Answer 2

Yes, it will cause less foggy water and get rid of any other foreign particles.

Answer 3

Yes.

Just place it in a bucket, and add water to cover the gravel, move the gravel around, empty the bucket and repeat until the water runs clear.

DO NOT put dishwasher liquid or anything like that, it can kill your fish via the pollutants in the water.

Answer 4

Absolutely! Every time you clean a tank, you should clean everything, especially the tank and gravel. I couldn't bear to even put a hiding rock in the tank without scrubbing it lol. My little bettas love it. You should wash everything that you put in your aquarium. Honestly, you have no clue where that stuff has been and it's going to be with your fish. I tend to be overly picky with how long I rinse my gravel. I have to make sure there is nothing in it. Not minerals, dust! Cleaning it also prevents have foggy water in the tank and having to do another annoying water change. NEVER use any soap, chemicals (besides water conditioner, stress coat, etc) or anything else when you are rinsing gravel. The gravel will be plenty clean enough rinsed. The soapy stuff/chemicals will kill your fish. All you need to do is get a caullinder and swish the rocks back and forth, making sure to get all of them, until no more dirt appears to come out of the water.

Good luck!

Answer 5

Always clean your gravel before putting it in your tank. Thats dust on your gravel. I spent nearly a darn hour cleaning my gravel before adding it to my tank. I got a clean bucket and put it in the tub, added the gravel, added room temperature water and swished the gravel around in the bucket using my very clean hands. After that I drained the water and repeated the process until the water ran clear. The reason it took so long is because my gravel is blue and had alot of excess (dyes?) and dust to get rid of.

Answer 6

you should clean anything you add to a tank