Black Blast sand. Is it safe?

bazil323

bazil323

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May 1, 2008
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Ok, so I may have jumped the gun a bit. I'm meeting a betta breeder tomorrow, and I wanted to have a nice 5g tank ready since I'm just deciding on one of the 3 halfmoons that are left. I had a 2.5g planted only tank with Black Flourite Sand in it, and I was going to move everything over to the 5.5g that I picked up today. I needed more sand, but I'd had to order the Flourite Sand last fall. I knew I'd have to either do that or try Menards to see if they had any white pool filter sand or some such that I could mix and maybe get a grayish color at least. They had silica sand that was white, but then I noticed bags of black sand underneath it. It was TCC Materials Black Blast sandblasting sand. Without thinking too much, I decided to get that instead. It felt even softer than the silica sand, and when I compared it with the Flourite at home, it felt softer than that too.

I rinsed it out and mixed it with the Flourite sand in the 5.5g, and I partially filled it with water. As I was cleaning out the bucket that I'd used to rinse, there was black residue left that I couldn't get off easily.

Here's a link to the description of the Black Blast. Whadda ya think?
 
Ok, I found this thread on a Google search that discusses the same product. Someone called the company and they said it had been used in aquariums with no complaints before, apparently. I don't know if that's because it really was fine or if no one bothered to complain about it.

Opinions welcome!
 
there is no link in the first post.....
 
I've heard of people using it many times before. I've never heard any thing negative about it, other than that sometimes it has sharp edges. You're probably fine, as long as you rinsed it out.
 
Whoops, I was trying to quickly post and do a search before heading to a party. Here's the link to the Black Blast info.

Thanks, StephenHall, that makes me feel better. I did rinse it really well outside, and I filled up and drained the tank once. I probably will do it again at least one more time before I add the betta. In fact, I'll probably put the betta in the 2.5g until I bring everything in on Monday or Tuesday so that I don't have to deal with the plants and driftwood to catch him out of the 5.5. I'll try to get pics of the tank when I'm done, but it'll have to be with my phone since I can't find the cord to recharge my camera, darn moving boxes! Can't find anything.
 
has anybody used that with cichlids? i read the other posts about it and nobody had anythingto say about that aplication. I want to replace the brown gravel i havein my mbuna tank with a black substrate. Im not made of money so i would rather not spend a bunch of money on stuff from the pet store. If black blast material works ill use it
 
Sorry, lethalcustom, I'm not completely sure. I think the link to the thread I was talking about in post #2 was to a cichlid forum, though.

I set up the new tank this morning. It looks great, if I say so myself. Now that he's in the tank, I can see more blue in him. He is a butterfly halfmoon betta. His body is blue/gray, and his fins start out mustard yellow and then switch to the blue/gray on the outside half of the fins. He's exploring the whole tank, and seems to really like it. I think he likes to set under the filter, actually. I have it unplugged while he's getting used to the tank and will plug it in this afternoon. I'm thinking of ordering some foreground carpeting plant (something minute, can't seem to remember the first part ever, ha) to fill in the front right part of the tank. Unfortunately, the desk lamp I've been using only goes about halfway on the tank, so I moved the Echinodorus bleheri compacta to that side. Everything else is lower light. I have crypt wendtii bronze and anubias nana petite on driftwood. Oh, and I do have a ludwigia glandulosa on the more lighted side too. All the plants except the anubia on driftwood came from the 2.5g that I'd originally had at work where the new tank is.
 
Here is my 55 with the black sand blast sand in it, been running for 3 mos no problems and the fish love to dig it up and arrange the tank they way they want.
 
i believe that blasting sand is just silica that has been ground up into a very fine grit, my blasting sand was white and i used it for a year no problems but i got tyrd of it getting sucked in to the filter every time a fish went buy, then i switched to a pool filter sand that is a bigger grit, and i move my filter intake up and it is way way better. but i think it is just a smaller grit, but not sure the black but the white is safe
 
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