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Washing Akadama prior to use.

chris1004

Member
Joined
27 Dec 2008
Messages
565
Hi,

This is my first time of using anything other than gravel as the bulk of a substrate and I've just finished washing 3 x 14Litre bags of Akadama (took me 5 hours!!!). After the first couple of sieve fulls I realised that its not possible to swill this around in a bucket until the water runs clear like I normally do with gravel as the clay just keeps coming off so I concentrated on just getting the fine particles and dead roots out.

In case I do this again in the future has anyone got any tips or tricks to make the job a bit easier?

Regards, Chris.
 
I swilled my Akadama out in a large bucket doing a 1/4 of a bag at a time. I had 10x14ltr bags to wash ,though I still have one washed one unused.
It took me three long evenings . Its just a time consuming job.There is certainly a lot of mes in there with it.

Simon
 
Hi,

Did anybody get the water to run off clear after a vigorous swilling around in a bucket? The water just seemed to go a deep red colour every time. The Akadama was softer than I expected it to be but as I said earlier having only ever used gravel before I've no experience with this kind of substrate at all so its a bit of a learning curve. I did notice that it actually sinks really well even the tiny particles so as you say Sam I reckon it will settle down well once in the tank.

Gradually getting things ready for a full scale assault weekend after next which will include several hardware changes and a juggle around of livestock. So T minus 11 days and counting. :) :)

Regards, Chris.
 
I'm thinking of spreading it thinly on a sheet on the lawn then turning the hose on it when I come to using Akadama...
 
Put a hose in the bottom of a bucket ad pour it in around the hose ;)
Leave it to overflow for a while and hey presto, although your water meter wont aprove.
 
chris1004 said:
Did anybody get the water to run off clear after a vigorous swilling around in a bucket?

I did a cupful at a time in a sieve under a running tap. Shook the sieve until it ran clear. Very laborious. Very time consuming. Any more than a cupful and it would not run clear.

Worth it though, I am really happy with akadama :)
 
Hi,

Well its in.

What a mission!! And a very busy weekend doing fishy stuff but I'm pleased with the result thus far, I like the look and feel of it. I must confess though that initially I was distraught at having a tank full of muddy water!! Just not used to working with this kind of substrate I guess. But the tank has cleared this morning, in fact the clarity is excellent. Very different to plant into than gravel, all but two stayed in though and as a lot of the planting was done nearly blind because of the muddy water thats a result.

I did the full monty with the sphagnum moss peat, Osmocoat and filter mulm as per James's instructions (Thanks James) a bit of a leap of faith for a die hard clean gravel user.

Fingers crossed.

Regards, Chris.
 
Glad it went OK... Any pics? Am keen to see how this goes as I'm planning on the Akadama route myself in a few months...
 
Hi,

Sorry no pics as I am technically dyslexic, only have a crappy camera phone and would have to get my grandson to explain to me how to work it. :lol: :lol:

Regards, Chris.
 
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