Help What am I doing wrong?

[Naturescapes_Rocco]

I am not saying it's right or wrong but I have never rinsed/washed BDBS. I have always just opened the bag and dumped it in.

Any film on surface of water goes away in hours. Fish have always done fine.

For me no issues at all (yes small sample size! ).

I would be curious to see if anyone out there has had issues/problems that were related to not rinsing it??

I'm glad you share this, I've seen similar reports online (no major issues from not rinsing!). I love calling BS on myths in this hobby.
The only issue I've imagined is cloudy or semi-oily water. Much of which I could imagine being a non-issue with initial water changes and cycling.

I would only suggest rinsing well to help keep water clear on startup, but if it's not necessary that's even better.

 

[techman81]

I'm glad you share this, I've seen similar reports online (no major issues from not rinsing!). I love calling BS on myths in this hobby.
The only issue I've imagined is cloudy or semi-oily water. Much of which I could imagine being a non-issue with initial water changes and cycling.

I would only suggest rinsing well to help keep water clear on startup, but if it's not necessary that's even better.

I'm with you on the rinse thoroughly because what I've seen when trying to rinse it a long time ago and seeing nothing but black/gray water. I had the same issue with Seachem Flourite which I used on my first 20g farm tank. I didn't wash it thoroughly and end up having crazy cloudy water every time I disturbed the substrate planting or removing plants.

 

[Wet Elbows]

Having just rinsed 50 lbs I would absolutely rinse this stuff every time. There was some oily residue the first couple of rinses and then of course a lot of dust.
I ran a hose outside and washed in 5 gallon buckets. I did this to accomplish three things.
1. Not piss off my wife
2. I didn't want to clean the black residue in the bathtub.
3. Not piss off my wife.
I won't do anything with this for a few weeks. I wanted to get it rinsed outside before the weather got too cold.

 

[Kwyet]

Having just rinsed 50 lbs I would absolutely rinse this stuff every time. There was some oily residue the first couple of rinses and then of course a lot of dust.
I ran a hose outside and washed in 5 gallon buckets. I did this to accomplish three things.
1. Not piss off my wife
2. I didn't want to clean the black residue in the bathtub.
3. Not piss off my wife.
I won't do anything with this for a few weeks. I wanted to get it rinsed outside before the weather got too cold.

This is why we had to find a house with a basement, lol! No tanks or prep above that level, unless it’s done outside.