hi everyone, im looking for some advice for back sand for a 72 gallon planet aquarium i just ordered. im planning on it being a african cichlid tank. ive had alot of tanks over the years but always with just gravel, never sand. so back to my question, is there any black sand that is easy to clean with a gravel vac and that does not cloud all up and plug up filters? ive sean a few reviews on YouTube about National geographic sand and people talking about how great it is but i cant seam to find it anyway online, looks to be discontinued. i will be running a fluval c4 and a fluval 406 if that helps. thanks
black aquarium sand recommendations? (freshwater)
- Thread starter robfreitas345
- Start date
I use black diamond blasting grit.
It’s technically not sand it’s coal slag.
It’s cheap and been used in aquarium hobby for years.
It’s technically not sand it’s coal slag.
It’s cheap and been used in aquarium hobby for years.
thanks for the response, i have heard of it and i was think about it but i would be concerned with getting a weird batch with some type of strange contaminate and also i would be concerned with scratching up my new tank seeing that is clearly very abrasive haha. this new tank isnt very big, only 36.5 x18.5 so im not too concerned with price seeing i will only need a couple bags
Best advice I can give ya is to pre-soak your sand when ya get it. It'll eliminate the majority of floating particles while helping to clean it. Also while pre-soaking make sure the stir the sand, this also helps reduce cloudiness. I would recommend doing this in a bathtub and bucket, put the sand in the bucket and leave it sit under the tub faucet while the water is running. Finally just keep stiring untill the water starts to lose its discoloration and nothing is floating.
I was skeptical at first myself.
Like I say it’s been used by hundreds of people for years. It’s your tank you can go with an actual black sand if you’re concerned.
The Honest Truth About Black Diamond Blasting Sand Safety in Aquarium
That black sandblasting sand will look amazing under your aquatic plants, right? But is Black Diamond blasting sand planted tank-safe? What about your fish? The media's used for polishing, after all, wouldn't it be too
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hmmm yeah i guess it has been used for a while in aquariums. i have used it in the past at a few machine shop jobs but never imagined using it in a tank. ill have to grab a bag add try it out in a smaller tank before just to see if im happy with it. thanks guys
Black Diamond blasting sand is the way to go if you want to spend less money! Also Lapis Luster sand from home depot is a great alternative for a natural beach colored sand, and equivalent in price. I put one half bag at a time into a five gallon bucket, and use an open ended garden hose on full blast to rinse. Push it down to the bottom of the bucket with your thumb over the outlet to increase pressure and move it around in circles. It will blast all dust and floating particles out of the sand and anything light enough to float will overflow out of the bucket on it's own. I usually dump the majority of the water out and repeat the process once. After doing this process twice it comes out incredibly clean. Just make sure you get the larger grit size. Tractor Supply carrys two sizes for cheap.
You might want to consider a 75% black 25% white sand mix. It will still give the effect of black sand but add a bit of texture and sparkle. Solid black sand can make a tank look very dark and gloomy, like a black hole in a room (think black velvet). The effect is worse with larger tanks with more surface area. Plus black absorbs light, so your lighting would have to compensate (which might give some nice algaa!)
Just my 2 cents.
Just my 2 cents.