Oneiroid Posted July 29, 2005 Report Share Posted July 29, 2005 Ok, I think I will abandon the sandblasting sand idea. It looks like all the potentially safe materials are all in light colors anyway. So I am back to square one. I will try to describe what I am looking for that got me exploring the sandblasting media in the first place. I am looking for small gravel or coarse sand in a dark shade (safe for fish who like to dig and hang out on the bottoms of tanks). I would accept anything from grey to black. I am looking to put this in 2 x 25 gallon long tanks. The closest thing I've seen so far is the small dark (I don't recall if it was called black) gravel in the GeoSystem line. It looks like great stuff, but costs $25 for a 10 pound bag. I can't really tell if it has sharp edges though. Any suggestions where I may find something that fits this description? And possibly in bulk, or for a fair bagged prices... Or does anyone think that the GeoSystem material is worth the extra costs? I've already taken a trip to Canar this week and had no luck. Planning a trip to Burnco this weekend. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Milan Posted July 29, 2005 Report Share Posted July 29, 2005 I've heard some people using play sand from RONA/Home Depot. It's brownish ... As far as granulation goes, I'm not sure ... Never used it myself. You may want to check it out ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vallisneria Posted July 29, 2005 Report Share Posted July 29, 2005 I put play sand in my 15g and regret it. Its very fine and it seems to be getting into my filters. I wish i had gone with a large grained sand, maybe pool filter sand. Its also not very dark in color. I'd consider it a medium brown. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sammy Posted July 30, 2005 Report Share Posted July 30, 2005 (edited) Howdy, I can get my hands on some nice sand/gravel for cheap here in Edmonton Im talking $25 for 80-100lbs of this stuff. I have used both of these with my Africans for aleast 1 year now and no problems with filter or system. This is a fine crushed quarts that has been pre-wash {Not too fine - about .25m} easy to clean Here it is in one of the tanks. And here is the other type of crushmix i can get - also very easy to clean. Its about 3mm in size maybe less This here is Tahiti Moonsand, cost $30 for 20lbs@ BA's. Im trying it out in my new tank. If anyone is intrested leave me a pm. Sammy Edited July 30, 2005 by Sammy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Madness Posted July 30, 2005 Report Share Posted July 30, 2005 The Geosystem stuff should be about $25-30 for 10 Kilograms, not 10 Pounds Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oneiroid Posted July 30, 2005 Author Report Share Posted July 30, 2005 Madness: Yes I believe you are correct, kg not lb. sammy: That moon sand from Big Al's is almost exactly what I was imagining... can you keep us updated as to how it is working out in your new tank? I am also very tempted by your crushed quarts.... I will send you a PM on it soon if I decide to go that direction. Thank you for the suggestions Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RD. Posted July 30, 2005 Report Share Posted July 30, 2005 The grey Geosystem substrate is actually very nice, I'm about to set up a SA tank using some of the larger size. (one notch up from the fine crushed stuff). It's not cheap, but one 22lb bag ($29 & change) was more than enough for what I needed, and I couldn't find anything anythere that compared to it. My other tanks have pool filter sand, but for this one I wanted a certain look that I could only find in the Geosystem gravel. (it looks much darker under water, than in the bag) You could also try checking out Burnco for low cost substrate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BT05 Posted July 31, 2005 Report Share Posted July 31, 2005 Can you have used carbon as a substrate? Just crush it until you have the desired particle size. I have no idea if this would have any adverse effects... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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