Using classifiers for sifting diver collected live sand

[RobertK]

Thought I'd share this in case anyone was interested. I recently bought 100 lbs of live sand from TBSW. I had seen photos of their sand in other members' tanks, liked the look of it but didn't want the larger pieces of shell. My buddy Jack (@UncommonSense) had the great idea of using classifiers for sifting it. These things are usually used by gold prospectors for sifting dirt but worked great for this purpose. I bought 3 of them from this website.

They come in 1/2", 1/4" and 1/8" mesh size. I bought all 3 but didn't end up using the 1/8" size as the holes looked too small. They are designed to fit in a 5 gallon bucket but worked better in a 12 gallon Rubbermaid bin filled about 2/3 full with saltwater.

Here is what we got out with the 1/2" classifier:

Then we repeated the process with the 1/4" classifier and got this:

That stuff will all go in the sump.

Also got a few hitchhikers:

And here is the final product:

I'm currently holding the sand in trays in a 20 gallon tank while waiting (im)patiently for my new tank to arrive.

Sand appearance is obviously a matter of personal preference but I'm very happy with the outcome and the way this worked!

 

[UncommonSense]

This did indeed work remarkably well!

I found that quickly setting a classifier full of sand down into the tub of water fluidized the sand, making it all readily flow through the 1/4” mesh within a few dunks!


Bonus photo of the 1/2”+ fragments, to help anyone who wants to try this out wrap their head around what percentage of ~6 gallons of sand is 1/4”+, and 1/2”+:

 

[DmitryB]

Thought I'd share this in case anyone was interested. I recently bought 100 lbs of live sand from TBSW. I had seen photos of their sand in other members' tanks, liked the look of it but didn't want the larger pieces of shell. My buddy Jack (@UncommonSense) had the great idea of using classifiers for sifting it. These things are usually used by gold prospectors for sifting dirt but worked great for this purpose. I bought 3 of them from this website.

They come in 1/2", 1/4" and 1/8" mesh size. I bought all 3 but didn't end up using the 1/8" size as the holes looked too small. They are designed to fit in a 5 gallon bucket but worked better in a 12 gallon Rubbermaid bin filled about 2/3 full with saltwater.

Here is what we got out with the 1/2" classifier:

Then we repeated the process with the 1/4" classifier and got this:

That stuff will all go in the sump.

Also got a few hitchhikers:

And here is the final product:

I'm currently holding the sand in trays in a 20 gallon tank while waiting (im)patiently for my new tank to arrive.

Sand appearance is obviously a matter of personal preference but I'm very happy with the outcome and the way this worked!

Yep that's perfect! That's I'll do with the sand I get for the 170 tank, which has arrived in IM's warehouse so I should likely have it in a couple of weeks!

 

[RobertK]

Yep that's perfect! That's I'll do with the sand I get for the 170 tank, which has arrived in IM's warehouse so I should likely have it in a couple of weeks!

Dmitry,
FYI that first photo of what we got out with the 1/2" classifier was everything we got out with it from the entire 100 lbs (I forgot to take a photo while sifting individual batches). We got way more out with the 1/4" classifier. If you like the results I got I think you could get by with just the 1/4" classifier. Also you could probably do this by yourself if needed but it really helped to have two people, one to scoop the sand into the classifier and the other to sift it in the water. The sand is in my new tank now, LMK if you want to see more pics. Good luck!

 

[slingfox]

Dmitry,
FYI that first photo of what we got out with the 1/2" classifier was everything we got out with it from the entire 100 lbs (I forgot to take a photo while sifting individual batches). We got way more out with the 1/4" classifier. If you like the results I got I think you could get by with just the 1/4" classifier. Also you could probably do this by yourself if needed but it really helped to have two people, one to scoop the sand into the classifier and the other to sift it in the water. The sand is in my new tank now, LMK if you want to see more pics. Good luck!

Would be great to see pics of what the sand looks like in your tank.

 

[RobertK]

Would be great to see pics of what the sand looks like in your tank.

OK will grab some tomorrow

 

[RobertK]

The new tank is still a work in progress but you can see what the sand looks like.

 

[slingfox]

The new tank is still a work in progress but you can see what the sand looks like.

Super nice!