How do I clean my sand/gravel

[Keelynnsreef]

Hi everyone I am having to change tanks due to it being cracked and I don't want it to explode at anytime. My questions are as follows?


Can I use the same gravel? If so, I have bristle worms in it. how do I clean the grave and how do I get rid of the worms. I don't like them in my tank.


the rock is the same question how do I clean living rock to get rid of any worms that have got in to them?




Please let me know what you think
I have the rock in a tub covered with water now.
The sand is real muddy and I have it in a tub also covered with water.

[profntbtr]

Take your sand in a bucket, and put in a garden hose as deep as you can. let run while stirring with hands(or turn up the hose and use water pressure) until water runs clear this will flush out all the silt and probably the worms as well. There is no real way to make sure that all bristle worms are gone from your rock, a freshwater dip might cause them to flee their hiding places, but it's not a guarantee. I would probably leave the rock alone, unless there is something else that you wish to destroy. you can pull it out and let it dry, but I've found a blowtorch works very well at killing everything it's pointed at (come back from that, aiptasia.) I've never had an issue with bristleworms, as I rarely see them, except when I feed. i usually feed fairly heavily and they help clean up the mess.

[Dean]

It would be more beneficial to add a fish or critter that eats bristle worms rather than take a chance on killing you beneficial bacteria by cleaning the rock.
Just my opinion. Same with the sand. Wash in saltwater if you want to keep the beneficial bacteria.

[jcnkt_ellis]

Bristle worms are beneficial poop / extra food eaters and are great to have. They will only multiply as large as their food supply, i.e. the more food you feed, the more fish you have, the more worms you'll get. That to the side, if your are dead set on trying to get rid of them, rinse the sand like stated above. Besides, depending on how you took the sand out and how long it was in the tank to begin with, you could have another cycle if you don't rinse.