black diamond sand

[Gone_Fishing]

I bought 2 bag of this stuff. I found some stuff in there as well, look at pic below.
Can someone who have use this stuff tell me if all bag are like that.

My first time using black diamond sand.

[korith]

I have that, if you look at the bottom of front, you can get it in different grits. I can't remember exactly what grit #, but you probably want to avoid too fine a grit. The middle grit is about the size of sand, it looks good. I did rinse mine a few times then added to the tank. It took probably 2 days to settle out.

[genocidex]

was that in the sand its self? not want to hijack lol but im planning on using it myself. are those like staples or something

[korith]

was that in the sand its self? not want to hijack lol but im planning on using it myself. are those like staples or something

I have to confess I didn't take a look at the first pic and notice those bits. The bag I had didn't have anything odd in it at all.

[Aeonflame]

Remember that this is coal slag and it is not an aquarium product so quality control will not be geared towards that end. I used the finer grit and did encounter some of those pieces. They aren't staples, just slivers of silica

[Gone_Fishing]

Is the 20-40 bigger then the 30-60?

[genocidex]

with sand paper the smaller the number the bigger the sand used on it, i would assume its the same with sand sand so 20-40 would be bigger than 30-60 (give or take)

[korith]

with sand paper the smaller the number the bigger the sand used on it, i would assume its the same with sand sand so 20-40 would be bigger than 30-60 (give or take)

Yep you are right. I'd avoid the the 30-60 might be too small. The 20-40 grit seems to work well, that is the size I have. It's similar in size of pool filter sand. My pygmy cories have no problems with it.

[WoadCelt]

I am really glad you have had no probs with your cories and this type of sand. I have read elsewhere that some people have had abrassion issues with black diamond substrate and also pool filter sand; but if they supply different grades of it, it must really come down to the grain size.

[Aeonflame]

Barbel abrasion has more to do with water quality issues than substrate. I've had my cories for years on pfs with no problems whatsoever

[WoadCelt]

Thanks Aeonflame! That's great to know. I am looking into substrates at the moment for that very reason.

Good luck with the black diamond sand! I hope it works out. Dark substrates usually look very stunning. :ssmile: