Blacksand

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Novicarpentry

Aquarium Advice Regular
Joined
Feb 27, 2013
Messages
64
Location
Northville Michigan
I'm still considering going with Blacksand for my new substrate I must be a glutton for punishment I think Because right now I have crushed seashells In my 80 gallon I was planning on going with white sand I already bought 150 pounds of it I just really like to way the black sand looks I must be my out of my mind
 
I love black sand in certain freshwater setups but I prefer the natural looking sand in my reef tank.

But... Do what you wanna do! And have fun!

Good luck
 
You could do white on the sides since you already have it and black in the middle. That would look really good IMO. I did something similar with my 125. I have red plant media on the sides and black plant media in the middle back and black sand in the middle front. Just a thought.
 
I just have a wicked cool image in my Head With my in tank and Blacksand With my 25 hermit crabs cruising around My arrow had crab My two big candy Anemones
 
I'm still considering going with Blacksand for my new substrate I must be a glutton for punishment I think Because right now I have crushed seashells In my 80 gallon I was planning on going with white sand I already bought 150 pounds of it I just really like to way the black sand looks I must be my out of my mind

i have black sand and it is amazing clean up is a little more but its a labor of love i can acually see copepods run across the sand lol just watch your feedings make sure all you feed they eat but short of that omg do i love it the colors of my mandarin goby is out of this world hope this helps good luck
 
i have black sand and it is amazing clean up is a little more but its a labor of love i can acually see copepods run across the sand lol just watch your feedings make sure all you feed they eat but short of that omg do i love it the colors of my mandarin goby is out of this world hope this helps good luck

What type of sand did you get for your tank
 
Then use black diamond sand blasting sand. About 9 buck for a 50lb bag. I used it in my 75 an love it. I'm not sure I agree that up keep is more with black sand. I haven't experienced that. So it's got me scratching my head a bit but I do have a 9 Cory shoal I call the "roomba"

Edit: you can get the sand at northern tool or tractor supply
 
I was heavily interested in this. I was wanting my future reef build to be black sand, but the heavy metals are concerning to me. I read into it but "Black beauty abrasives also known as coal slag, black diamond, black blast and boiler slag is an inexpensive media. It is one of the safer forms of abrasive media, containing less than 1% or no silica. Black beauty media also produces little dust, however, may release hazardous air pollutants (HAP) into the surrounding air. Black Beauty abrasives are made from crushed liquid coal slag from utility boilers. The abrasive contains iron (Fe), Aluminum (Al), Magnesium (Mg) and Calcium (Ca). The media comes in sharp angular grains ranging in many sizes including coarse, medium, fine and extra fine grained."

That being said, it has been done. Remember that this stuff is magnetic. Using magfloats will end up scraping the sides of your tank. It will stick to powerheads, impellers, whatever is magnetic in your tank. Please keep us posted, I personally am interested in the use of it. Just make sure it isn't sharp and rinse it really well! I would love to read about it being used in saltwater, I have only seen freshwater uses.
 
Now you have me Afraid to use it I don't wanted to get in my powerheads and circulation pumps And my Power filter And with live sand being a dollar a pound What other options do I have I think the Blacksand is a awesome look
 
I just bought a bag of extra fine sand They do not have it any extra course I'm worried about it not settling down or Or is it going to Stir up too easy With water circulation I have some in the bucket wash washing right now I will keep looking for extra course tractor supply
 
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