Onyx does have a fair amount of fines in it but I like that. I wash a bag in
a three gallon pail by letting the finest stuff overflow and working the
gravel with my hand. I really don't want to wash away all the fines just the
stuff that would be floating dust in the tank. I don't blast it with a high
pressure stream either. When the grey froth disappears I stop the overflow.
It takes less than 5min per bag for me.

Of course the water is dusty when it is first added to the tank but the
fines that aren't collected by the filter (I just put floss in to collect
the fines that don't settle) eventually settle into the substrate just like
in nature. You'll get a slightly whiter look to onyx as a result and you may
want to stir the surface a bit to kick up the dust and let a bit more of it
get removed or just wait and let gravity and time take their course.

I'd rather not be in such a hurry to get the substrate stable and lose the
fines. The substrate is going to be there a long time and the fines help
keep the roots planted better. And the finer grains look more natural than a
bunch of lumpy gravel to my eye.

jmo

jtm

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