Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

What the subject line says. I just put it in a small pile, and sprayed it with a hose while picking it up a handful at a time. Got to be a better way!

Use a collander or strainer of some sort DD, my girlfriend and I did a whole trailer load of gravel with a hose and a collander, took ages but it worked well....

p.s. don't just take the one out of the kitchen or you may get in trouble....

Dave, I was doing the same thing you were. Now I put the gravel in a bucket, add water and then transferred it to a large sieve, most of the sand stayed in the bottom of the bucket and the rest washed out when running water over the gravel and through the sieve. Then just dump the gravel out of the sieve.
Joyce

An old Brickies trick, find an old style bed base, the woven (chain mail) style, and prop it up at say 45 degrees, then using shovel, thow the gravel at the bed base, gravel stops and rolls to the bottom, sand keeps going and builds up on the other side.

Just like a giant sieve really

If you can't find a bed base, look for fine mesh (say, like whats used in rabbit hutches etc) and build a form for it, it will do the same thing.

Warren

I three quarter fill a bucket with gravel, then fill it with water... I then agitate the top layer and scoop out with a small pot (the type you by plants in from 'B')... the holes in the bottom of the potting pot allows the water to carry the sand out... you land up with quite a layer of sand in the bottom of the bucket!!! tempted to take the sand back and ask for a refund or swop

Nice one Warren.

Very hot tip.

I knew there had to be a reason I kept that wirewove. And to think I was going to dry beans on it.

you can dry beans on it as well....

Those old bed bases are hard to come by nowadays, I haven't seen one in years though I'd love to get hold of one.

Washing rock, what are the neighbors going to think?

Is that some sort of filter or mesh John?

Just an old screen window from the house next door EB. We own it so no worries. I have seriously considered putting up a sign, "Pan for gold $1.00 a bucket!" I do not think this pea gravel will go in the grow beds too many small pieces. Lesson learned. But it does have its use just not a two for one delivery. Will source out for bigger pg for the grow beds when I'm done with current project. I'm probaly nuts for washing all this stuff but it keeps me off my behind and moving forward. Only 17,004 buckets to go. LOL maybe i should drop the price to $.50?

AAAGGGGHHHH! I'm hoping someone will come up with a miracle way of doing it before I get my like sized pile

I used shade cloth with a 3 sided frame yesterday.

Sat the rigid frame end up on blocks, put a liftable amount in the shade cloth and hosed it.

To empty it I pulled the two long sides in and poured it in a bucket.

Hinge the long sides to the short sides you're in business.

Seems like we all have workable methods, but sheezz its a bit a water I'm going through. I'm wondering if I could tell the supplier i want washed Pea Gravel?

Unfortunately it gets dirty in transit as well. This is where a large container and pump would help. Have a screen over the container and wash a bucketful at once recycling the water with a pump.

Another method we used towards the end of cleaning the last lot of gravel, was filling a half blue barrel (cut lengthways, like in my new system) with water, then got a 40litre plastic tub with lots of holes drilled in the bottom, or an old worm farm would probably be good too, so long as it's strong..

Then get a person on either end of the plastic tub and dunk it into the half drum full of water, lifting it up and shaking it around from side to side. It's a reasonably efficient way of doing it but requires two people.