# black silica sand?



## cdavitt (Apr 4, 2011)

Is there such a thing as true black silica sand?
I have done a bunch of reading of all the articles here about Ã¢â‚¬Å"black sandÃ¢â‚¬â„¢. Wether it be slag, blasting sand, black beauty, or silica sand coated in ceramic.

I read all the posts about the now infamous 3M Colored Quartz. This apparently doesnÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t exist anymore and is being sold under a new name through a different company. I have contact them but havenÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t heard back. I stumbled upon some info about the black 3M stuff actually just being Quartz, that was then coated with black ceramic.

This leads me to today. I found a supply store that sells ashtrays like you see out front of convenience stores and office buildings. They sell 'black sand' in bulk to fill these ashtrays. I contacted them and a 75 lb bag was only 19 bucks! What a deal if it doesnÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t leech toxins into the water!

So this leads me back to the original question, is there such thing as black silica sand? The lady I talked to at this supply place was not the one who ordered it so she could not speak to the brand, make-up of the sand, or size. She did state however that it is "black silica sand".

Does black silica sand exist? Or is it likely something else? (The person who orders it wonÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t be back until next week so I am relying on the centuries of fish keeping knowledge here)

Thanks


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## 13razorbackfan (Sep 28, 2011)

You can buy black silica sand. I have had some in the past and it worked well. I never had any issues.


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## cdavitt (Apr 4, 2011)

Sweet! I guess I was over complicating itÃ¢â‚¬Â¦


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## 13razorbackfan (Sep 28, 2011)

cdavitt said:


> Sweet! I guess I was over complicating itÃ¢â‚¬Â¦


On another thread I mentioned I once had a tank with black sand and a black background with nice big white texas holey rock. The white and black contrast really made the fish's color pop. One of the nicest tanks I have ever had. I might go back to that look in the future if I can ever find some cheap large texas holey rocks. They are SOOOOOO expensive and hard to find nice show pieces.


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## cdavitt (Apr 4, 2011)

So I went and picked up the 'sand' stated above. The bag states it is 100% copper slag (not awesome). Slag was something I was trying to avoid because it could potentially contain toxins and metals that would leech into the water. Off the top of my head I know copper oxidizes pretty fast (statue of liberty) so I donÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t think 100% cooper slag as a substrate (because itÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s in water) would be a good idea.

Has anyone used this stuff before? Second opinions? Concurring opinions?


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## 13razorbackfan (Sep 28, 2011)

cdavitt said:


> So I went and picked up the 'sand' stated above. The bag states it is 100% copper slag (not awesome). Slag was something I was trying to avoid because it could potentially contain toxins and metals that would leech into the water. Off the top of my head I know copper oxidizes pretty fast (statue of liberty) so I donÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t think 100% cooper slag as a substrate (because itÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s in water) would be a good idea.
> 
> Has anyone used this stuff before? Second opinions? Concurring opinions?


I don't know a whole lot about what you bought but found this article you may want to read.

http://www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/sand.php


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## cdavitt (Apr 4, 2011)

Thanks for the link. I know what I am looking for, its just been tough to find. If I stumpled upon black beuty (iron slag) I would porbably use it as iron oxidizes MUCH slower than copper.

I currently have 4 tanks with PFS, just looking for black sand for a frontosa tank.

Construction Supply places have been fail, I am now calling pool supply places.


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## 13razorbackfan (Sep 28, 2011)

cdavitt said:


> Thanks for the link. I know what I am looking for, its just been tough to find. If I stumpled upon black beuty (iron slag) I would porbably use it as iron oxidizes MUCH slower than copper.
> 
> I currently have 4 tanks with PFS, just looking for black sand for a frontosa tank.
> 
> Construction Supply places have been fail, I am now calling pool supply places.


What about black blasting sand? I thought I read somewhere that they have a #29 and a #12 grit. I think the #29 is more dense and like PFS so it will not get sucked up as easy. I may be wrong.


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## cdavitt (Apr 4, 2011)

Another hour of phone calls and BINGO!

I found a local supplier who has all kinds of colored quartz. Even multiple grades to choose from.

I am going to get it tomorrow. 50lb bag for 21 bucks plus tax. I know this site discourages linking other sites and products. So if you are interested in the location or are looking for colored quartz in Phoenix send me a pm and I will let you know where itÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s at.


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## 13razorbackfan (Sep 28, 2011)

cdavitt said:


> Another hour of phone calls and BINGO!
> 
> I found a local supplier who has all kinds of colored quartz. Even multiple grades to choose from.
> 
> I am going to get it tomorrow. 50lb bag for 21 bucks plus tax. I know this site discourages linking other sites and products. So if you are interested in the location or are looking for colored quartz in Phoenix send me a pm and I will let you know where itÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s at.


Glad to hear. Post pics in this thread when you have it installed so I can check it out!


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## BillD (May 17, 2005)

I am using nickel slag, and have had no issues. PFS is #20 grit, which is what I have in use. I have a bag of #12 which is a little coarser, for my next set up. Cost is $10 for 88 lbs. When you look at what slag is, it is not really what it started out as. That is too say, whether it was coal, copper, nickel or whatever, the slag is what is left over after processing and is probably more like glass than it's original source. I don't think that leaching is an issue, especially in a tank that has regular water changes.


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## Anthraxx8500 (Feb 11, 2011)

no slag at all please!! never ever ever consider using it. copper is one of those elements u want as a trace.. not in that high of a quantity. id recommend hitting up your local petsmart for some argonite sand. i got mine in 30lb quantity for around 20$. not the greatest price but its well worth it in my mind. that or get urself a 100lb bag of silica sand at the hardware store.


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## BillD (May 17, 2005)

If there was any real amount of copper in the slag do you think you could buy it for $10 a bag? Copper scrap is around $3 a pound. The slag is what is left after the copper (or whatever) is removed from the process. Personally I would never use aragonite, or any substrate that wasn't inert.


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## Fishy_Cichlid (Aug 4, 2011)

I am not an expert on aquariums but if the 'Iron Slag' mentioned in the post is the slag produced during production of Iron, I can confidently say its acidic though Basicity can be close to 0.95-0.98. Blast Furnace or Iron slag can be molten Slag or Granulated Slag. Primarily, the slag consists of calcium, magnesium, manganese and aluminium silicates in various combinations. Iron Slag contains 'Sulphur compound' incld SO3 (upto 2%) and I am sure thats not nice in a fish tank since S can be poisonous.

Steel Slag on the other hand is alkaline. Steel Slag (FeO : 16-24%) however contains more iron than Iron slag (0.5%)

One should remember that Iron slag is chemical reaction of Coke (not nice for the fish) + Sinter (Coke & Dolo fines & Lime fines & Iron fines) on Iron ore (which contains S, Si and also many heavy metals).

I wouldnt use it for my substrate.


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## cdavitt (Apr 4, 2011)

Thanks for all the input. I ended up tracking down black quartz (Yes 3M T grade!) locally from a cement supply facility. They actually have S and T grade and about 20 different colors. 45 minute drive is worth the peace of mind knowing my substrate is 100% invert materials.
Pm me if you are in Phoenix and want to know the name of the supplier.


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