Black Sand

What is "so much money"?? Petco has small black gravel that is "not too expensive".
 
check out any sand blasting places. someone i know locally got about 200 lbs of it for $60 canadian, so like $50 american. it's not treated with anything(but be sure to ask them) and it doesn't need to be rinced that much. they had other colours there as well, white, brown and beige. they also had a couple different grit sizes. you could also check out landscaping places and see what they have available. the package should say what it is and if it's treated with anything, then you can check it out online and see if it's safe for aquarium use.
 
I use tahitian moon sand. Petco sails it for like $20 for 20lbs. Pretty sure it is tahitian moon sand...it may be something else, but it is nice and black.
 
Finally got a 38G and was wondering on a good black substrate. I'd rather not use the 3M Quartz because it says it can cause cancer. Any ideas on good black sand?
 
3M quartz is inert and will not cause cancer. However, the silicate dust resulting from manufacturing it can cause cancer if you inhale it deep into your lungs. Just don't make a habit of breathing in the dust when you pour it out to wash it and you'll be fine. This does not affect fish in any way at all.

I really like 3M Quartz T grade, but it's getting harder to find since they will no longer be made starting in 2010.
 
I have 200 lbs of colorquartz t grade in my 180. No cancer here yet.
 
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