# Dark or black substrate suggestions? Cory friendly.



## JEden8 (Jan 5, 2011)

I'm actually in the same boat as you are with this. I was about to post the same question but saw you had one going already so I'm along for the ride! Same size tank and all. I'm just trying to do it with spending the least amount of money but still have a quality substrate.


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## amberoze (May 22, 2012)

Black diamond blasting sand. I would use the fine grit with corydoras, as they like to dig a little and I think the coarser grits might damage their barbels. Plus black is it's natural color, so it won't fade or leach.

Also, slate is fine for corydoras, I have a piece in my 125 propped at an angle and I see my Cory's chillin on it shi the time.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2


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## Bubba Shrimp (May 7, 2012)

I have some Jumbo Green Cories I'm using Flourite Dark and they seem fine with it. They like to prop themselves up with there bottom fins. It's recommended that the substrate be fine to prevent damage to the barbels.


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## Razorworm (Jul 24, 2011)

I have a 40 low tech dirt tank capped with Black Diamond. It has 10 very healthy Sterbai Corys in it ( as well as 14 Otos and 6 Bosmani Rainbows) . The Corys love rooting around in the sand and there is no problem with their barbels. The misconception here is that the Black Diamond grinds or somehow erodes their barbels. The fact is, poor water quality and dirty tanks are the cause of barbel problems. The Black Diamond also holds newly planted stems very nicely as well as rooted plants and it looks great. I think your use of the word "dramatic" is quite fitting.


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## owens81jw (Feb 7, 2009)

Tractor supply store has black blasting sand !!!!


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## driftwoodhunter (Jul 1, 2011)

Thanks everyone ~ I'm going to check out the Black Diamond blasting sand, and now I know what grain size to look for. I have a Tractor Supply in town and I'll go there first. Knowing that the black is it's natural color is the big sell here, I'm very disappointed in the FloraMax leaching color. (not that I would use FloraMax again anyhow - I don't like the look of it) 

Razorworm, I don't suppose you have any pics of your 40? I have a 40B I'm hoping to tear down before spring. I might decide to put the Black Diamond in that tank, too.


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## driftwoodhunter (Jul 1, 2011)

JEden8 said:


> I'm actually in the same boat as you are with this. I was about to post the same question but saw you had one going already so I'm along for the ride! Same size tank and all. I'm just trying to do it with spending the least amount of money but still have a quality substrate.


I can't wait to see how your tank comes out - you'll probably get it done before I do!


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## lullafishi (Dec 13, 2012)

I just bought two bags of Black Diamond 20/40 for my 40b, too! But it's going to be awhile before I can get it set up as I'm waiting on a stand.

Both my bags have those little needle-like pieces that I'd read about in another thread. I'm thinking about getting some window screen to see if I can successfully sift the longer ones out. However, I've run my fingers through it wet and dry and it really doesn't feel sharp or rough at all. Given that so many others have had success with cories and Black Diamond, I'm not too worried. 

The stuff really does look great.  Mine has quite a bit of amber specks in it, but it's nice and black when wet. I'm definitely going to rinse mine first if it doesn't become too much of a hassle. I tried rinsing a small tupperware container to see what I was dealing with and there is very fine dust in it. The fine dust kind of creates an "oily" appearance when floating on the surface of the water, which I thiiiiink is what made some people comment about an oil residue in other Black Diamond threads?


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## marcnc (Dec 13, 2011)

Glad I read this, was about to pickup/order some FloraMax. Cannot beat the price, but the topic is bit of concern about the color of the water. Also not sure if my cory's will be happy with it?

I don't care for the blasting sand from tractor supply. Last time I picked up some for small tank it was full share thin metal, kinda looked like the size of small pins, was not about to pick it all out.

As I know it much more money, I think at this point I am going to get eco-complete. It not perfect and costs more, but I guess it will be better than the other 2, though hate to spend the money.


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## csf (Jul 10, 2003)

The cory barbel thing is pretty well debunked.

I've had flourite regular for 10+ years with 3 current cories that are at least 3 years old and their barbels are close to half an inch long. See link below to post/pic.

http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/showthread.php?p=2294961&highlight=#post2294961

Finer grit won't change that.



amberoze said:


> Black diamond blasting sand. I would use the fine grit with corydoras, as they like to dig a little and I think the coarser grits might damage their barbels. Plus black is it's natural color, so it won't fade or leach.
> 
> Also, slate is fine for corydoras, I have a piece in my 125 propped at an angle and I see my Cory's chillin on it shi the time.
> 
> Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2


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## polukoff (Oct 12, 2011)

owens81jw said:


> Tractor supply store has black blasting sand !!!!


:thumbsup:


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## Razorworm (Jul 24, 2011)

what looks and feels like a needle to us is like a tooth pick to a little fish. Think scale!:red_mouth


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## Razorworm (Jul 24, 2011)

driftwoodhunter said:


> Thanks everyone ~ I'm going to check out the Black Diamond blasting sand, and now I know what grain size to look for. I have a Tractor Supply in town and I'll go there first. Knowing that the black is it's natural color is the big sell here, I'm very disappointed in the FloraMax leaching color. (not that I would use FloraMax again anyhow - I don't like the look of it)
> 
> Razorworm, I don't suppose you have any pics of your 40? I have a 40B I'm hoping to tear down before spring. I might decide to put the Black Diamond in that tank, too.


I will in a bit


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## Sugardaddy1979 (Jan 16, 2012)

I've been using black Diamond from tractor supply for a year. All of my cories look great.


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## Razorworm (Jul 24, 2011)

Here are a couple of pics. FYI, I just fed flakes so some are seen in the sand.


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## driftwoodhunter (Jul 1, 2011)

That looks really nice - I love how the greens pop against the dark base.


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## m00se (Jan 8, 2011)

Those "pins" in BD break quite easily and really aren't anything to concern yourself about. I have heard others talk about metal in this stuff and maybe that's true. I don't know. I have used it for 2 years in 2 tanks and I don't see any in mine. Maybe somehow someone got the tail end of a batch and it had the dregs of the grinding machinery in it? Whatever. I don't think it normally has anything more than boiler slag in the sack. I love the stuff. Corys love the stuff. Nothing negative to report here.


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## lochaber (Jan 23, 2012)

m00se said:


> Those "pins" in BD break quite easily and really aren't anything to concern yourself about. I have heard others talk about metal in this stuff and maybe that's true. I don't know. I have used it for 2 years in 2 tanks and I don't see any in mine. Maybe somehow someone got the tail end of a batch and it had the dregs of the grinding machinery in it? Whatever. I don't think it normally has anything more than boiler slag in the sack. I love the stuff. Corys love the stuff. Nothing negative to report here.



I've been following a few of these threads, and I'm under the impression that a lot of people mistake the needle/pin shaped pieces for metal wires. I'm pretty sure they are just artifacts of whatever process is used to produce the slag, but that's just a guess on my end.


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## lullafishi (Dec 13, 2012)

I bought two bags of Black Diamond last week and both (unfortunately) have the pins/needles. But m00se is right, they break pretty easily with your fingers. I'll still be using the stuff in my tank.

I'm no expert, but I'm confident they are NOT metal. They're the same material as the rest of the coal slag and they only resemble metal wires in shape. Some of mine are even the same amber color of some of the grit when you hold it to the light. I'm with lochaber, I think they're a natural artifact of the process.


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## Razorworm (Jul 24, 2011)

ONCE AGAIN. What seems small and sharp to us is big and dull to a little fish. I have been using this stuff for a while and others have as well. I rinse mine and squish the heck out of it with my hands while rinsing. No injuries to report.


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## mela (Jan 30, 2013)

Here is my 29g with blast sand from Tractor supply. Tank has been up for 4 months. Have 3 channel cats (babys), two bristle nose plecos, 5 tiger barbs and guppies. Stuffed the tank with plants. Everyone seens happy. Rinsed the blast sand a whole bunch.


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## AirstoND (Jun 17, 2011)

They don't call them armored fish for nothing


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## AlexG (Jan 31, 2013)

I've been using Super Naturals black sand. It looks great and the root systems grow great without any fluorite. I do use some root tabs a few times a month. It's fairly expensive but I have had great results with it.


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## driftwoodhunter (Jul 1, 2011)

I'm definitely trying this. It looks like I'll be setting up the 55 before the 90, so I'm going to do the 55 in Black Diamond (or whatever Tractor Supply has). The 55 is actually being set up in a darker area of the room, so the drama of the tank will be highlighted even more. Both tanks will have black Poret foam Hamburg Mattenfilters and DIY 3D rock backgrounds in dark tones, so it will be interesting to see how the plants and the fish pop. I'm really looking forward to trying this -I love seeing the pics of people's tanks, I hope more photos get posted here!


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## Absntmind (Jul 16, 2012)

marcnc said:


> Glad I read this, was about to pickup/order some FloraMax. Cannot beat the price, but the topic is bit of concern about the color of the water. Also not sure if my cory's will be happy with it?
> 
> I don't care for the blasting sand from tractor supply. Last time I picked up some for small tank it was full share thin metal, kinda looked like the size of small pins, was not about to pick it all out.
> 
> As I know it much more money, I think at this point I am going to get eco-complete. It not perfect and costs more, but I guess it will be better than the other 2, though hate to spend the money.


I'm in the same boat. Planning on changing out my substrate from playsand to a dark color and have had trouble deciding. I don't care for the blasting sand from TS either. Was looking at Spectraquartz and Estes Permacolor Quartz also. Estes is supposed to be a replacement for the 3M Color Quartz which is no longer being made. Sadly there are no sellers close by.

I won't be doing the change myself for a couple weeks, so I'll still be looking. Though like you, so far I have settled on eco-complete for my 55 gallon.


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## im2smart4u (Dec 7, 2010)

I have used three different types of black substrate, and the black blasting sand is my favorite (and the cheapest).

The first one I tried (and the one I am still using in my 25 gallon tank) is the black Activ-Flora from Nature's Ocean. It looked good at first, and still looks okay, but the substrate has many sized particles in it, and over time the small stuff settled on the bottom, so now it looks like I have black pebbles, which isn't exactly the look I want.
http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/showthread.php?t=145128
Here is an old thread with pics of this tank and substrate. You can see the gravelly look it has now. Right under the small piece of driftwood, towards the middle of the first pic, you can see the smaller size particles where one of my fish moved all the large pieces.

The second one I tried was the Flourite black sand. I had it in my 16 gallon bowfront. It looked awful. The sand was actually more of a gray color than a true black. It was also way to easy to stir up. The tank always looked dirty and the floating sand ruined my HOB filter. I have no pics of this tank. It never looked good. (The only reason I kept it up for so long was because I had a pair of pelvicachromis taeniatus "kienke" in there that bred like mad.)

The black blasting sand was the third black substrate that I have used. I am currently using it in my 40 breeder, and I also used it in a 29 before I took it down. Not only does it look better, being a true black, but the plants loved it. The roots from the plants I pulled out of that tank (the 29) were unbelievable. I don't have any pictures from then, and the 40 breeder I have now has cichlids in it, so there are no plants in the substrate. I really wish I would have found out about this before spending more money on (in my opinion) an inferior product.
http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/showthread.php?t=231722
This thread shows some bad pics of my 40 breeder how it looks right now.


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## SouthernGorilla (Mar 22, 2012)

We used the black Top Fin sand sold at PetSmart. Our cories and MTS seem happy with it. Not sure how it compares on price.


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## secuono (Nov 19, 2009)

I use black sand blasting grit, sand. Very cory safe, mine breed and their substrate is blasting grit. =)


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## cowfish007 (Sep 9, 2011)

Is this the "black diamond" everyone is referring to?

Amazon.com: Black Diamond Blasting Abrasive: Home Improvement

Can't find it locally and there aren't any Tractor Supply stores by me. With the shipping, I may as well just buy black aquarium sand.


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## secuono (Nov 19, 2009)

I've been using and telling others to use sand blasting grit for 3-4 years. None of my fish, cory, oto or scaleless fish have issues with it. 
There is an odd oil slick to it, but no where near the 'never ending' mess playsand has.


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## Lynrem (Jan 13, 2014)

Bumping this because I've spent the last 90 minutes plus trying to figure out for sure if Black Diamond Blasting Sand/Grit is safe for Cories and other bottom dwellers. This thread explains it well. 



Razorworm said:


> I have a 40 low tech dirt tank capped with Black Diamond. It has 10 very healthy Sterbai Corys in it ( as well as 14 Otos and 6 Bosmani Rainbows) . The Corys love rooting around in the sand and there is no problem with their barbels. The misconception here is that the Black Diamond grinds or somehow erodes their barbels. The fact is, poor water quality and dirty tanks are the cause of barbel problems. The Black Diamond also holds newly planted stems very nicely as well as rooted plants and it looks great. I think your use of the word "dramatic" is quite fitting.





csf said:


> The cory barbel thing is pretty well debunked.
> 
> I've had flourite regular for 10+ years with 3 current cories that are at least 3 years old and their barbels are close to half an inch long. See link below to post/pic.
> 
> ...



From what I've read most of the negative comments about BDBS are not from people that actually used it. They are "I think it might ..." Someone told me it did .... to there cories" (But no indication of who that someone is.) Or the better yet "I read somewhere but can't remember where that it will ..."

So what I see is (including the poll here ) over 90% of the people that actually used it didn't have a problem with it.


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## OVT (Nov 29, 2011)

So, how many more people do you need to give you exactly the same opinion before you are absolutely sure? Just get the stuff and start enjoying your tank.


v3


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## Lynrem (Jan 13, 2014)

OVT said:


> So, how many more people do you need to give you exactly the same opinion before you are absolutely sure? Just get the stuff and start enjoying your tank.
> 
> 
> v3


Well like 99.9 %:icon_conf

Seriously, I'm going going to use it on my new 20 gal set up. This will be my first dirt tank and I'm mineralizing the soil now. Plus TSC was only had fine in stock - normally have medium just sold out. Will probably be end of Feb before I get set up.


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## Rbp917 (Dec 9, 2012)

I have used pool filter sand and that seems to work well, but it is normal sand color, which I like for Corys and cardinals.


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## Jill (Mar 13, 2012)

I've been using Black Diamond for 2 years in several tanks with no problems whatsoever. Fish and plants love this stuff.


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