# Black blasting sand..Safe??



## tbowsher

i have been reading a lot about black blasting sand..was wondering if anyone here has used it? or know of reasons not to.. and what color sand do you like best? I've heard that both make the fish colors stand out..I have a black background on mine..any feed back will be great ...
Thanks


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## smitty814

Well you get what you pay for and black blasting sand is cheap. Some, made from coal slag, may contain petroleum. If I wanted black substrate I would buy something made for Aquariums. I use pool filter sand (pfs). It is also cheap but it's made of silica.


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## CrypticLifeStyle

It's true a lot of people use it, and have been for years. It's been particularity popular for fish tanks, as well as planted tanks due to it's cheap price, and good color. I myself dabbled in using it this year in a 65g planted-cichlid tank, and all of a sudden was having health issues with the fish in the tank. I pre-rinsed it through a pillow case, and did all i had to do correctly, but due to the weird issues i was having in this one particular tank i became suspicious of it. I brought up my suspicions in another forum where it's more widely used, and though there is a lot of people strongly opposed to my suspicions, i did receive feedback from some individuals as well as some friends of mine in the real world that did suspect it like i did, and 2 of the main concerns was they saw oily sheen's on top of the water surafce after using it, as well as a coal smell.

I used, and they used the more popular available type black diamond blasting grit. It's coal slag, and coal slag is questionable in my opinion if you look into it. I have since removed it from the tank through vacuuming, and my problems have stopped. I have no evidence if it's tied into the health issues of that tank is true, but from what i've seen, and others have seen i'm not comfortable using it personally or recommending it to others. Just use with caution if you do.


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## slimbolen99

There are several different types; be sure to get NEW and not recycled coal slag. There are also some kinds that are VERY sharp; imagine millions of tiny pieces of metal splinters. I am using some from Tractor Supply Company and like it a lot. It's not so sharp and was pretty clean without much rinsing.


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## tbowsher

Thanks for the advice...i love the look of black sand. But now worried about another possible problem i'm doing and under gravel jet for water movement.. will that work with sand? or will i need to use gravel? thanks for any help


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## CrypticLifeStyle

slimbolen99 said:


> There are several different types; be sure to get NEW and not recycled coal slag. There are also some kinds that are VERY sharp; imagine millions of tiny pieces of metal splinters. I am using some from Tractor Supply Company and like it a lot. It's not so sharp and was pretty clean without much rinsing.


Thats the kind i used/they use, and where i bought mine/theirs from.


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## CrypticLifeStyle

I gave a friend of mine a 50lb bag i had left over, and today he rinsed it at 125F hot water to show some of the residual issues. Other then the outer dusting, it also stained the white bucket, and couldnt be removed without an abrasive material. He took some pics. figured i'd show them. Dont mind the very first pic


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## GTZ

Similar to what my bucket looked like after rinsing. It was Super Naturals, Tahitian Moon by Caribsea.


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## CrypticLifeStyle

GTZ said:


> Similar to what my bucket looked like after rinsing. It was Super Naturals, Tahitian Moon by Caribsea.


Did you have to use a brillo pad to remove the stain afterwards, and still not be removed?


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## GTZ

CrypticLifeStyle said:


> GTZ said:
> 
> 
> 
> Similar to what my bucket looked like after rinsing. It was Super Naturals, Tahitian Moon by Caribsea.
> 
> 
> 
> Did you have to use a brillo pad to remove the stain afterwards, and still not be removed?
Click to expand...

The bucket is still stained. I didn't bother scrubbing, however I did try soap and water initially.


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## ShckTrprTk

tbowsher said:


> Thanks for the advice...i love the look of black sand. But now worried about another possible problem i'm doing and under gravel jet for water movement.. will that work with sand? or will i need to use gravel? thanks for any help


The black sand looks to be more course than my PFS. i run an UGJ system in my 55 with 5 jets. and a aqueon 1700 utility pump. it took a little bit of fine tuning to stop the sand from blowing around a jet or two, but for the most part wasnt really a huge deal. if your going to make the UGJ with PVC i do not reccomending applying glue to the pvc for the fact taht you can move your jets around and posistion them, i chose to to 2x 45 degree connectors so that i can get an up and down movement on the jets aswell a slight left to right movement if you want.

here is my UGJ system it wasnt completed this wasnt the finsihed product as i dont have pics of that as i finished and immediatly added sand and forgot to get pictures!










this is the one i had problems with and had to move around the most for the most part the rest were okay!


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## GTZ

Keep in mind that some species, in my experience, darken to reflect the darker substrates.


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## BillD

I have used a black blasting sand for a couple of years now. Mine is a nickel slag and I have noticed no adverse effects with fish.However, snails don't last ans are dead in no time. I had heard it took a couple of years for any leachate to be gone from it. This info came from a LFS that used the same brand in their tanks. I do find it to be a little light, so the second bag I bought was #12 grit instead of #20 which is the grit size of PFS. All sands that are manufactured to a certain size are sharp. This includes PFS which by specification of filter manufacturers is to be #20 sharp sand. It is usually silica but doesn't need to be. Any non-soluble stone can be used to make it.


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## mlancaster

Hi tbowsher,

A great black sand substrate is silicon coated black colored quarts. I believe it is typically used for pool finishes or colored cement. I can provided more information if you are interested and when I get a chance to look at the extra bag I have. It typically is uniformed small round grains. It works well with my earth eating cichlids.

Thanks,
Matt


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## Borsig

I use black diamond fine and medium both.

No issues so far. Theres nothing wrong with it as far as i can tell. I just tied the fine for the first time in my 40b.


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