Black Diamond Blasting Sand

[AngelFishGirl]

Thinking about picking some up from Tractor's Supply this weekend. Switching my substrate to sand. It's 4 bucks for white play sand or 8 for black blasting sand. I really want black and this is the only cheap black sand around (others stretch up to 40-60 bucks for 50 pounds)

I'm getting mixed results on if this is good or bad.

Reviews?

Also, just confirming that it's a pound a gallon? I have a 55 and am definitely not spending another 8 bucks on 5 simple pounds. But is 50 the correct amount I need?

 

[Betta Platy Addict]

Ok. I bought some today from tractor supply. It was beautiful. But no matter how much I rinsed (even after an hour) I couldn't get the oily residue or the tar smell to go away. I ended up tossing it and going to petsmart to buy the moon sand. Sucks. I wanted it to work. It left a THICK greasy film in my buckets and still wouldn't go completely away after scrubbing it with dawn and a brush. No way was I about to put that in the tank. Also, there are long tube like pieces in there. And one ended up as a splinter in my foot and was hard to remove. Just NOT GOOD. Overall. Waste of money and time. Just invest in the safe stuff. Unless you can wash it with dish soap for hours and get all the soap out too. It literally smelled like tar (up close).



Just went to the trash can to take a close up of the blasting sand. See the long tube like pieces?????

Don't do it!

 

[AngelFishGirl]

Wow. Haven't heard that one yet :/


Others have used it and said it's fine. It's so hard to figure out what to do!!

How much was your moon sand?? I'm so frustrated I don't want to spend 50 bucks on sand.

 

[Betta Platy Addict]

Yeah I was NOT expecting that, after all the research I did

It was $27 for 20lb and I needed 3 bags. So way too freaking much. But there was no way I was putting the blasting sand in and I sort of had my heart set on shiny black substrate. Prob should have just gotten PFS. Oh well. Live and learn.

 

[TheCommunityCichlid]

Get pool filter sand. Blasting sand IMO is a risk sims it's used for blasting and not any water uses.

 

[CalebZachary]

I have sand blasting sand in my new tank I am setting up. It does tank a LONG time to rinse, and some of it gets stuck to the sides of the tank, but it looks beautiful.

 

[bud29]

Blasting sand does take a while to rinse, however it's not impossible. I have it my 55g and 5g, and I love it. I didn't love the rinsing (took 4 hours to rinse a 50lb. bag) but I do really like the look.

 

[dragonfisher33]

Ok. I bought some today from tractor supply. It was beautiful. But no matter how much I rinsed (even after an hour) I couldn't get the oily residue or the tar smell to go away. I ended up tossing it and going to petsmart to buy the moon sand. Sucks. I wanted it to work. It left a THICK greasy film in my buckets and still wouldn't go completely away after scrubbing it with dawn and a brush. No way was I about to put that in the tank. Also, there are long tube like pieces in there. And one ended up as a splinter in my foot and was hard to remove. Just NOT GOOD. Overall. Waste of money and time. Just invest in the safe stuff. Unless you can wash it with dish soap for hours and get all the soap out too. It literally smelled like tar (up close).


View attachment 186677

Just went to the trash can to take a close up of the blasting sand. See the long tube like pieces?????

Don't do it!

whatever is it that you got, the supposed "sand", is probably crushed tar. i have not seem that been brought up by anyone before and i have had sand before and it definitely didn't smell like tar

 

[Betta Platy Addict]

whatever is it that you got, the supposed "sand", is probably crushed tar. i have not seem that been brought up by anyone before and i have had sand before and it definitely didn't smell like tar

I guess so. It was the black diamond sand from tractor supply. Maybe it was a bad batch. Heavy oil and smelly.

 

[AngelFishGirl]

Thanks for all the help guys! I think I'm gonna use it. It'll be a pain rinsing, but I think it'll be fine after that. How should I rinse it? Put it in a pillow case? I've heard that's a good way. Is there an easier way? I feel like buckets is gonna be more difficult? Maybe I'm wrong?

 

[CalebZachary]

Get a bucket, pour a third of the bucket worth of sand, rinse, drain, repeat until water is relatively clear. Make sure to stir it around.

 

[boadams87]

Its the best sand. I've got it in 3 tanks and will never use anything else. Just rinse and rinse even rinse more

 

[Jeeves]

I love love sand and will never use anything else again. I have the very white kind from Carib

 

[Betta Platy Addict]

The black blasting looks very close to the moon sand I have, but it was too greasy and smelly.

I have to pay for a babysitter so that I can work on tanks and by the time I've paid for the sitter so that I can rinse for 4 hours, I might as well have purchased the moon sand, which requires only a few rinses. Which is what I did. And I don't regret it. But if time is not a problem, then get rinsing!