DIY Substrate

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Dec 19, 2002
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Hey,
I was at Home Depot today looking at sand for substrate for my new 75 gallon tank. I found black sand called "Black Magnum" sandblasting sand. It says its made from coal slag. This will be fine for my tank right? I know alot of people used sand blasting sand but was it the coal slag? If I can't use this is it ok to use playsand?
 
I'm by no means an expert, and I don't know about the coal, but I will just relay advice I have read that others have gave on this board. As far as the playsand, I've seen many people on here use it. You just have to clean it. One method I've read on here, is an old pillow case with the sand in it and running water through it until it turns clear. Menards is a good place to buy this. But as for the other stuff, you'll have to wait for someone else, but I'm pretty sure the same cleaning technique will apply....
Hope it helps.
 
sandblasting sand particles are angular and sharp, so it would not be the best choice for fish that dig a lot (cory cats, cichlids, etc.). Otherwise, it would be fine, I think. Just to be sure, get a small amount of it (find a busted bag, maybe?), and put it in a glass of aquarium water and test it after a day or so to make sure it doesn't alter the water quality.
 
What is "coal slag?" I wondered, and ran it through www.google.com. The marketers of "Black Beauty" sandblasting material say this: "Made from quenched liquid coal slag and fresh water washed, this product is extremely inert."

If it's inert, that's a start. It does sound very sharp. How is it when you roll it between your fingers? Suitable substrate?
 
pinballqueen, then what would you recommend for a cheap sand substrate?

I like onyx sand but it is far too expensive for me. BigAl's dropped the price for me but it was still too much for shipping from the east coast to west coast on stuff that's so heavy (about $200 total including the sand and shipping for a 100 gallon tank!)
 
I used masons sand. it cost me $1.99 for 50 lbs of the stuff. It is inert and normaly used as filler, a component in concrete and to set bricks in. It looks realy natural as it isnt uniform and has some small pebles.
 
I just brought home the 75 gallon tonite finally! So I'm probably going to head up to Home Depot again to look for som substrate. I will look at the masons sand. My only concern is that if my fish burrow, I dont want them to get hurt. Because the bag of sandblasting sand seems to have some sharp grains.

What color is the masons sand?

My friend used some real fine sand in a reptile tank that looks good. I would like to try this because if my fish start digging, they wont get hurt at all. But I think this is too fine and will just float around. Has anyone tryed this.
 
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