Best Way To Separate Substrate?

[phantomlink]

In two of my tanks I have a mix of fine black sand, and larger white "fine" gravel, maybe somewhere in the 2-3mm range while the sand is 0.5-1mm or so.  In the near future I want to do some work in the 75gallon which is mixed, with the white gravel mostly on the bottom since I didnt have enough black sand at the time.  I want to remove it so its all the same type of substrate but trying to think of a way to do it.
 
Only thing I can think of atm is finding a strainer with holes small enough to only let the sand through, any other ideas?  I want this tank all one colour of dark sand so if I possibly get Dwarf Neon Rainbows and more live plants I can make it look pretty

 

[This Old Spouse]

The strainer idea is the only one I can think of. But it's really doubtful you'll be able to separate it completely. 

 

[Lunar Jetman]

I think this will take you quite a while to do as well so you'll need a lot of patience and as TOS says, its doubtful you'll completely separate it fully, at least not without a lot of effort. Good luck though!

 

[Metka]

I've had this exact same issue with my 90L - to be honest the only way around it is just purchasing new substrate. Unless you're the kind of chap who doesn't mind sitting on the sofa with a bowl of gravel, picking out the bits one by one while watching eastenders
 
Good luck buddy.

 

[Brahmza]

I came across a similar situation with my 55g. I gave up after an hour of trying to separate it with a strainer and bought new stuff. Good luck! 

 

[fluttermoth]

A household sieve might separate them; worth a try before you buy new.

 

[This Old Spouse]

I think it would separate them to some degree, but there's no way to do it completely. Worth a try to see how much works, though.

 

[eaglesaquarium]

I suggest a small set of tweezers a magnifying glass on a stand, and a great deal of patience.  You can do this!  Just remember each grain you separate is that much closer to the end.  It should only be a few hundred million pieces to separate. 

 

[phantomlink]

Har har
 
Here is a picture of the two substrates, some of them came up when I replanted a crypt from that tank into my new planted tank
 

 

[CezzaXV]

Looks like there's quite a big difference in sizes, and the colour difference helps too.

A strainer or sieve would be the best way to go about it. If you can't find one with the right sized holes, perhaps you could make one by drilling appropriately sized holes in a thin bit of wood.

 

[Shaddex]

I did exactly this at the weekend.

Used my net to scoop up the gravel/sand mix and mixed it while in the water. Sand dropped out and gravel stayed in net.
Just a matter of finding the right net. Not too fine and you will be good.

 

[phantomlink]

I'll do a little shopping.  The plants I plan to use arent high tech so I shouldnt NEED plant sand, that stuff is expensive it would cost me like $300 just to get 1.5 inches in the 75g.  Its the same colour as the regular stuff I have so I could always buy a bag or two and mix it around so it goes everywhere.  Guess time will tell

 

[eaglesaquarium]

What substrate and how much do you plan to buy that would cost you $300 for a 75G tank?
 
 
Petsmart has 12lbs of FloraMax for $10 a bag (a few cents over).  You'd have to buy 30 bags to get to $300, and that's WAY more than you would need for that tank.  75 Gallon tank would need no more than 75-150lbs.  You could get plant substrate for that tank for about $100.  No need to spend money that you don't need to... but those substrates are actually quite different sizes.  It should be fairly easy, actually.
 
 
You could also try pouring the water/substrate over a screen.  The smaller particles should fall through the screen, while the larger ones should just roll down the screen.  You'd probably have to run it through a few times.

 

[phantomlink]

I might have overjudged, but I need 6 bags of Flourite Black sand to get 2" even substrate, at $30 a bag thats 180 before taxes
 
Since I plan to keep low tech stuff I might just keep the substrate how it is and possibly just root tab around the tank if I have to