Loaches Online Forum

There's this black sandblasting sand called black magnum that looks magnificent but the problem is its hard to find. Likely have to call the company and see if there is a distributor in your area.

I have looked into that too, but not very much yet. The other common name is Black Beauty. But it seems many have said its too abrasive. I'd have to actually see the stuff though. As I recall, its a byproduct from coal power plants, slag or ash. Many have expressed concerned that it can contain a lot of heavy metals and such, and being in the powerplant business I know that could be the case. But it is something I want to look into further.

Don't know if you've seen this, but here's a site with a good article on sand in the aquarium.
http://www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/sand.php

That is a good link, Shari. I learned a lot.

I actually found Black Beauty at my local hardware store. I was looking for Silica Sand. I didn't like the Black Beauty at all. It was really fine and very rough, in my opinion.

Recently, I asked Emma Turner what she used in these pictures in this link:


http://forums.loaches.com/viewtopic.php?t=5415

It was Silica Sand, used in sand blasting.
I like the look of it a lot.

I thought sand blasting sand had minute particles of glass in it as an abrasive.

Curtis wrote:Old fish - do you have issues with your clowns washing out on the sand? Since you used pool filter sand it should be fairly white.

Can you post me a link to the bead filter you use and the pump you use.

I'm currently putting together a central system that will house around 1000 gallons or so... and until you mentioned it I never even heard of a bead filter.

Thanks.

The sand I have isn't white it is more of a tan color and the fishes colors seems good. If you goooogle koi bead filter you will find 20 different brands.Most all do a good job.I've had three different kinds myself.The one I have on my 700 gal tank is a"bubble bead"that I bought used. It is older technology but I've modified it some.

Black Magnum and black beauty is available from coarse to fine, though I dont know of hand the particle sizes. But like said, it is sharp, and probably not good with bottom dwelers. Just about any other type of sand is going to be locally sourced. So X brand and Y type of sand on the east coast of the US isnt going to be the same on the west coast. I learned this from looking for a sand that looked really good, though the stuff available to me was completely different even though same brand same product.

Sandblasting sand varies widely. Not all kinds are going to have glass in them. Actually some of the smoothest sandblasting material is glass (glass beads).

Have any of you ever used the 3M colorquartz in your tanks? I was thinking of trying some since the tahitian moon sand is way too expensive.

I really liked the stuff in Emma's pictures but I have had no luck finding it.

joitoy wrote:I really liked the stuff in Emma's pictures but I have had no luck finding it.

I haven't found it yet, either. Still hunting, though.

Maybe we should pay Emma to mail us some!

lol, isn't emma in europe. that would cost an arm and a leg to ship it.

it was funny i was vacationing in europe and i sent a few postcards. i actually arrived back from europe before the postcards arrived at their destinations. this was a monthlong trip as well!

Total Package wrote:Have any of you ever used the 3M colorquartz in your tanks? I was thinking of trying some since the tahitian moon sand is way too expensive.

Did you see my earlier posts on this? I linked to some good sources of info on it. I wouldn’t hesitate to use it if it were local and not too overpriced, but there are only a few distributors and seems like the price has gone up recently. If you want a fine smooth sand for loaches and a specific color its a no brainer if you can get it. The only downside is its more expensive that plain sand but usually still cheaper than buying Tahitian moon sand in the lfs. Also being quartz it'll scratch your glass easier if it gets in your algae scrapper, but if I am not mistaken pool filter sand is quartz too.

Yeah, I read through the entire thread. It got me more interested in the product. There are about 4 places semi-locally that sell it.

I was just wondering if anyone here had experience since it's more likely that it would be used in a similar setup by people on this forum (plants + loaches). More info is always better

Pretty much all sand is going to be quartz, to some extent.

I am in the process of setting up a river tank (75 g) and wanted sand for the substrate. All pool filter sand in this area is white and I wanted a more natural look. The local LFS just had white or black. After a long search, both on the web, and at more distant LFS's, I found sand that I really like. I have the sand from this site.

http://www.redflint.com/aquarium_sand.htm

I did not order it online, but asked a LFS to order it and they did. A little pricey at $20 per 50 lbs, but it looks really nice with brown, red and black colors as the picture in the above link shows. I think that I also like the size at between .45 and .55 mm. I have the tank set up with two 802 power heads and Martin's river manifold. The power heads move the sand just a little bit, but it is stable (one power head is right near the bottom). When I add driftwood and rocks it will be perfect I think. Thus, I think that it is small enough to keep waste from settling down into it, but large enough so that I won't have a problem with the power heads moving it around too much. Also, is does not seem sharp or abrasive. The grains are nice and rounded.

Keith