# Black Sand?



## Cook.MN

So anyone know where to get some cheap black sand? I can get a 50lb bag of pool filter sand for like $10 but can only find black sand for $1 per pound. Figured someone here might know of a cheaper substitute to spending the dollar per pound route that is black-ish.


----------



## Cich of it all

A dollar a pound is about the going rate for Tahitian Moon Sand. The two alternatives I know of are:
1) Black beauty, which is coal slag. I don't recommend using it, but others have had good luck with it. It's pretty cheap.
2) 3M Colorquartz. It's been said to be nicer than TMS and can be had for just a little more than half the price. The problem is that it can be very tough to find. You need to have a retailer nearby where you can pick the stuff up. You could order it online, but with shipping its probably not worth it. Check here:http://solutions.3m.com/wps/portal/3M/en_US/ColorQuartz/HomePage/Products/Buy/♦


----------



## barbarian206

i hope im wrong about this but u mentioned black beauty ist that a fine grit that is used for cleaning rust and paint off of steel used as a sand blasting agent i hope im wrong


----------



## jlspitler

black sand blasting sand works good in tanks. i have heard of people using it. and seen it myself in a few tanks around here. price is not to bad.


----------



## wilpir

I use Black beauty..Bought it at my Local Menards(Like Home depot)..called sandblasting sand $6 for 50#...Looks great..Wilpir :thumb:


----------



## TailorO

i wouldn't use black beauty. not the safest stuff. it isn't even sand really. it's iron slag...there is info about it here http://www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/sand.php


----------



## Laurel

Your 3 basic choices when looking for black sand are:

Black Beauty - It's coal slag with the possibility of other stuff being mixed in. It's questionable from a safety standpoint and this topic has been covered several other times in the past. If you do a search for "black beauty" you can find some good threads about this. It's upside is that it's cheap. I've personally never seen it for sale around here, but I've also never looked for it.

Tahitian Moon Sand - It's really expensive, usually about $1/lb. I've found it to be widely available, I saw some at Petsmart. Based on photos that I've seen, it seems to have fairly large grain size and is somewhere between a large sand and a small gravel. It also appears fairly irregular in shape/size, maybe a little sharp. Here's a photo I found online.









3M Colorquartz - It's middle of the road. I paid $50 for 100 pounds of this. I've found it to be fairly available, but you have to check 3M's website to find a retailer. It's available in 2 grades, T-Grade, which is larger and more irregular/pointy, and S-Grade which is small and very round, good for fish that like to dig or spit sand. It's a nightmare to clean(from my experience) but well worth my stained bath tub. I think it's the best looking substrate I've seen so far and my fish love it. Here are some of my shots of the substrate.


----------



## DemasoniLover

You can Get Tahitian Moon here https://www.thatpetplace.com/pet/group/10859/product.web for only $8.92 per 20lb bag! (+ shipping ofcourse)

I just called the only 3M ColorQuartz distributor in my area and they told me $26 per 50lb bag! Plus it's a one hour drive!


----------



## DISCIPLE

DemasoniLover said:


> You can Get Tahitian Moon here https://www.thatpetplace.com/pet/group/10859/product.web for only $8.92 per 20lb bag! (+ shipping ofcourse)
> 
> I just called the only 3M ColorQuartz distributor in my area and they told me $26 per 50lb bag! Plus it's a one hour drive!


thats a decent price first off. cleaning is way easier then sand especially using an old pillowcase. lastly the hour would be worth it. *** driven an hour for a date so i figure the fish are worth it. your choice though good luck. :thumb:


----------



## Doane

I drive 101 miles from my house to That Fish Place. Its a terrible drive full of traffic and back roads. I hit traffic almost every time I am forced to go, the round trip takes a FULL day for me. That being said, its worth ever minute, every gallon of gas, and its a heck of a day.

If I was you I would look at it this way.
1 hour hour round trip $25 bucks 
2x 26 dollars for a 50lb bag $52

Not having to worry that the sand you bought will kill your fish...

Priceless.

Besides, 100 lbs of Black Tahtian will cost you 100 bucks, way I see it, your saving money.


----------



## Nighthawk

[
I just called the only 3M ColorQuartz distributor in my area and they told me $26 per 50lb bag! Plus it's a one hour drive![/quote]
thats a decent price first off. cleaning is way easier then sand especially using an old pillowcase. lastly the hour would be worth it. I've driven an hour for a date so i figure the fish are worth it. your choice though good luck. :thumb:[/quote]

But do you fish put out?


----------



## DISCIPLE

lol @ fish put out!


----------



## kewlkatdady

Nighthawk said:


> But do you fish put out?


I know they nibble on my finger when I put my finger in the tank... I wonder what they would do if I put my....

never mind.  

3M CQ is the way to go...


----------



## Doane

> I know they nibble on my finger when I put my finger in the tank... I wonder what they would do if I put my....
> 
> never mind.


TERRIBLE. You absolutely fail at life, forever. Worst thing I have laughed to in awhile. I feel almost like I need a cold shower after giving that a good laugh. :lol:


----------



## Cich of it all

> I wonder what they would do if I put my....


That depends on whether the species you keep are meat eaters or not. I know that too much protein is not good for my Mbuna.
If I had to pick a fish to get _friendly_ with, I'd have to go with my biggest adult Melanochromis labrosus:


----------



## kewlkatdady

lol...
I think you've actually thought tooooo much into this. :lol: :lol:


----------



## dkreef

i found a 3m quartz distributor also very close to me. they sell for 26 for 50lb bag.
anyways, i wanna know how big the T grade sand are compared to S grade.
any have pics?


----------

