# Black diamond blasting sand?



## Nlewis

Mattb126 said:


> Hi, I'm planning a 10 gallon iwagumi scape, and I was planning on using black diamond blasting sand. I'm looking for some pointers and all the information I can get about it? What kind to get, where to get it, how to rinse it, things to worry about, etc.
> 
> Thanks


All you really need to know is that its awesome. You can pick it up at Tractor Supply and you want to get the medium grit 20/40. You just need to rinse it a bit to get the dust out and every bag is different, anymore I don't even rinse it I just throw it right in the tank.


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## Mattb126

Nlewis said:


> All you really need to know is that its awesome. You can pick it up at Tractor Supply and you want to get the medium grit 20/40. You just need to rinse it a bit to get the dust out and every bag is different, anymore I don't even rinse it I just throw it right in the tank.


There's no tractor supply near me, is it available at Lowes/HD? Is there any specific brand?

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## Nlewis

Mattb126 said:


> There's no tractor supply near me, is it available at Lowes/HD? Is there any specific brand?
> 
> Sent from my iPhone 8 (Dev) using Tapatalk


Nope, not that I've seen. The brand is Black Diamond and there's an older one I believe that's called Black Beauty.


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## Mattb126

Nlewis said:


> Nope, not that I've seen. The brand is Black Diamond and there's an older one I believe that's called Black Beauty.


Guess I'll have to plan to go for an hour drive within the next 2 weekends to get some. Thanks!


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## Nlewis

Mattb126 said:


> Guess I'll have to plan to go for an hour drive within the next 2 weekends to get some. Thanks!


Hell yeah, road trip!


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## Mattb126

Nlewis said:


> Hell yeah, road trip!


My dad's office is near it actually, I might offer to go help him clean it up one weekend in exchange for some sand [emoji13]


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## PortalMasteryRy

Just make sure you rinse it properly or else you'll end up doing a water change a few times. I made the mistake of not rinsing it enough when replaced another section of my tank with safe-t-sorb with the blasting sand. The water was a tiny bit cloudy for a few days and I ended doing a water change to help clear it up. It took 2 water changes to finally get it all cleared up.


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## Mattb126

PortalMasteryRy said:


> Just make sure you rinse it properly or else you'll end up doing a water change a few times. I made the mistake of not rinsing it enough when replaced another section of my tank with safe-t-sorb with the blasting sand. The water was a tiny bit cloudy for a few days and I ended doing a water change to help clear it up. It took 2 water changes to finally get it all cleared up.


How would you recommend rinsing it? I've read about people straining it in pillowcases and using buckets, just want to know the most effective way.


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## plantsrockmysocks

5 gallon bucket. Fill it up. Swirl, dump. Rinse and repeat. When you think it's clean, stick the hose in the bucket with the water running and make sure the water spilling over the edges looks crystal clear.


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## Econde

Menards has some black blasting sand.. Its a bit finer than the other brands. I am currently using it in my 10 gallon tank.


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## Kubla

It's also available through Harbor Freight.


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## tatersalad

Check with places that rent equipment. Alot of places that rent air compressors and sandblasters will have it. I have always bought it from a place like that around here, I never even tried Tractor Supply.


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## FuzzyMuffin

Am I the only one who hasn't had a great experience with blasting sand? I got the stuff from menards that Econde is talking about, and I really wish I didn't have it anymore. Thankfully I'll be moving in a month and can remove it when I drain my tank. 

It's in my 90gal goldfish tank, and it's a pain to vacuum. Granted, all the poo sits on top, which is nice, but even then it's so fine, I end up sucking so much sand through the python, which isn't great for the hose or the pipes. One of my goldies (a rescue) has had a problem with bottom sitting, and I'm not sure if it's the sitting in general or the sand, but his belly gets pretty scratched up. I have to float him in a colander just to give his tummy a chance to heal up. I wonder how fish like corydoras do good.
Maybe if I had found some that wasn't so fine it would have been better, and my case is obviously not the norm! 

As far as rinsing though, I filled up a bucket and constantly had hot water running over it with my hand in there swishing the sand. You can either dump the water and repeat, or just let the water continually overflow the bucket, it'll run clear eventually.


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## natemcnutty

FuzzyMuffin said:


> Am I the only one who hasn't had a great experience with blasting sand? I got the stuff from menards that Econde is talking about, and I really wish I didn't have it anymore. Thankfully I'll be moving in a month and can remove it when I drain my tank.
> 
> It's in my 90gal goldfish tank, and it's a pain to vacuum. Granted, all the poo sits on top, which is nice, but even then it's so fine, I end up sucking so much sand through the python, which isn't great for the hose or the pipes. One of my goldies (a rescue) has had a problem with bottom sitting, and I'm not sure if it's the sitting in general or the sand, but his belly gets pretty scratched up. I have to float him in a colander just to give his tummy a chance to heal up. I wonder how fish like corydoras do good.
> Maybe if I had found some that wasn't so fine it would have been better, and my case is obviously not the norm!
> 
> As far as rinsing though, I filled up a bucket and constantly had hot water running over it with my hand in there swishing the sand. You can either dump the water and repeat, or just let the water continually overflow the bucket, it'll run clear eventually.


You have to keep in mind that there are various grits. Medium to coarse is what you want, and it sounds like what you have is too fine. I got something similar from an industrial supplies warehouse, and I have compaction issues due to it being too fine (their medium meant roughly 40 rather than the roughly 20 of bdbs).

I love the look and ease of planting, but I get what you're saying about vacuuming. I actually like taking a bit of the top 

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## rewsemail

Tomorrow I'm setting up a 30 & 55 gallon tank I plan on using the blasting black sand course/ medium grit. I will keep updating to let you all know what I think of it. So far I like the cost and the look of it, I'll know for sure tomorrow.

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## Econde

FuzzyMuffin said:


> Am I the only one who hasn't had a great experience with blasting sand? I got the stuff from menards that Econde is talking about, and I really wish I didn't have it anymore. Thankfully I'll be moving in a month and can remove it when I drain my tank.
> 
> It's in my 90gal goldfish tank, and it's a pain to vacuum. Granted, all the poo sits on top, which is nice, but even then it's so fine, I end up sucking so much sand through the python, which isn't great for the hose or the pipes. One of my goldies (a rescue) has had a problem with bottom sitting, and I'm not sure if it's the sitting in general or the sand, but his belly gets pretty scratched up. I have to float him in a colander just to give his tummy a chance to heal up. I wonder how fish like corydoras do good.
> Maybe if I had found some that wasn't so fine it would have been better, and my case is obviously not the norm!
> 
> As far as rinsing though, I filled up a bucket and constantly had hot water running over it with my hand in there swishing the sand. You can either dump the water and repeat, or just let the water continually overflow the bucket, it'll run clear eventually.


Well tbh, I had so much pest snails that they kind of "coated" the top of the sand with their slime. I haven't had any issues vacuuming it so far. But yea it is a bit finer than I expected. I had a chance to get the medium grit, but was lazy to drive out to Farm and Fleet vs Menards(closer to me). Overall I have only been using it for a little over a month and no major issues so far. 




natemcnutty said:


> You have to keep in mind that there are various grits. Medium to coarse is what you want, and it sounds like what you have is too fine. I got something similar from an industrial supplies warehouse, and I have compaction issues due to it being too fine (their medium meant roughly 40 rather than the roughly 20 of bdbs).
> 
> I love the look and ease of planting, but I get what you're saying about vacuuming. I actually like taking a bit of the top
> 
> Sent from my Nexus 6 using Tapatalk


I was afraid of compaction issues, but my Assassin snails seems to be doing a good job of digging up small areas at a time. Also while I was cycling my 10 gallon tank, I would poke into the substrate where I saw trapped pockets of bubbles under the sand. And yea I agree with you completely, it's like butter. Planting in this stuff is so satisfying. I had so much frustrations with the Eco complete, not wanting to hold roots down.


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## Mattb126

Is this the correct one? Gonna start the tank soon. http://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/product/black-diamond-medium-blasting-abrasives

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## Nlewis

Mattb126 said:


> Is this the correct one? Gonna start the tank soon. Black Diamond Medium Blasting Abrasives - For Life Out Here
> 
> Sent from my iPhone 8 (Dev) using Tapatalk


Yes and get the 20/40 grit.


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## Pacifica Barber

do you have pics of your tank with that blasting sand to see what it looks like?


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## bbroush

Pacifica Barber said:


> do you have pics of your tank with that blasting sand to see what it looks like?




I dunno about OP but here is mine that I just did a weak ago


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## Econde

Here's mine, but I'm using the blasting sand from Menard's. 









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## bbroush

Econde said:


> Here's mine, but I'm using the blasting sand from Menard's.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Sent from my A0001 using Tapatalk




Ditto. Fine grain


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## MUTigers

Here's mine. Medium grit from Tractor Supply.

















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## Mattb126

Pacifica Barber said:


> do you have pics of your tank with that blasting sand to see what it looks like?


Haven't set up the tank yet, possibly after Christmas.


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## Olskule

Here's a 20 gallon I just set up recently with BD medium grit I got at Tractor Supply for just under $8 for 50#. I was surprised that it took the entire 50# bag to do the 20 gallon tank. (Don't pay any attention to the spindly stems, they are rescues from a previous algae farm that I'm hoping will recover, and this is just a grow-out tank.)








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It was cold outside and I didn't feel like braving the temp while working with water, so I rinsed it in a 5 gallon bucket in the bathtub, filling the bucket with water (and BD) and scooping it around with my hand, replacing the water repeatedly until it remained clear. A couple of things I can tell you is, first of all, if you're not using a hose to get the grit at the bottom of the bucket stirred up, and are using your hand to dig into it to rinse it well, be careful to not dig too hard, or the small grit can work its way under your fingernail, and it doesn't feel good _at all_! :crying: The other thing is, if you rinse in the bathtub, be prepared to clean the tub afterward, because it _will_ leave a black powdery residue in the tub; but, hey, that's better than it being in your tank, right? Other than that, the only comment I have is that I absolutely _love_ the way it looks and it is easy to work with. It is very dense and, unlike some fine substrates I've used, it holds plants very well. It is also easy to plant in and 'scape to begin with. Since this is my first tank with it (but I'm sure not my last), I can't vouch for much more than that, but from everything I've read, it works great for growing plants as long as you're feeding the roots with root tabs of some sort, because it is totally inert and, unlike most aquarium gravels, it doesn't have little crevices that allow mulm and other organics to collect in the substrate and feed the plants' roots. Of course, this does give you a bit more control over the tank housekeeping and organic processes, which is a good thing as long as you're dealing with the roots' needs.

And it's worth saying again, _don't_ let it get forced under your fingernail :icon_excl

Olskule


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## Mattb126

Olskule said:


> Here's a 20 gallon I just set up recently with BD medium grit I got at Tractor Supply for just under $8 for 50#. I was surprised that it took the entire 50# bag to do the 20 gallon tank. (Don't pay any attention to the spindly stems, they are rescues from a previous algae farm that I'm hoping will recover, and this is just a grow-out tank.)
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> [/URL][/IMG]
> 
> It was cold outside and I didn't feel like braving the temp while working with water, so I rinsed it in a 5 gallon bucket in the bathtub, filling the bucket with water (and BD) and scooping it around with my hand, replacing the water repeatedly until it remained clear. A couple of things I can tell you is, first of all, if you're not using a hose to get the grit at the bottom of the bucket stirred up, and are using your hand to dig into it to rinse it well, be careful to not dig too hard, or the small grit can work its way under your fingernail, and it doesn't feel good _at all_! :crying: The other thing is, if you rinse in the bathtub, be prepared to clean the tub afterward, because it _will_ leave a black powdery residue in the tub; but, hey, that's better than it being in your tank, right? Other than that, the only comment I have is that I absolutely _love_ the way it looks and it is easy to work with. It is very dense and, unlike some fine substrates I've used, it holds plants very well. It is also easy to plant in and 'scape to begin with. Since this is my first tank with it (but I'm sure not my last), I can't vouch for much more than that, but from everything I've read, it works great for growing plants as long as you're feeding the roots with root tabs of some sort, because it is totally inert and, unlike most aquarium gravels, it doesn't have little crevices that allow mulm and other organics to collect in the substrate and feed the plants' roots. Of course, this does give you a bit more control over the tank housekeeping and organic processes, which is a good thing as long as you're dealing with the roots' needs.
> 
> And it's worth saying again, _don't_ let it get forced under your fingernail :icon_excl
> 
> Olskule


Actually, it does provide some nutrients to your plants unlike gravel. BDBS is ground up coal slag, which had nutrients for your plants.


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## bbroush

Mattb126 said:


> Actually, it does provide some nutrients to your plants unlike gravel. BDBS is ground up coal slag, which had nutrients for your plants.




Now this is the first I've heard of that ever. What nutrients and in what amounts ? I'd love confirmation of that


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## Mattb126

bbroush said:


> Now this is the first I've heard of that ever. What nutrients and in what amounts ? I'd love confirmation of that


I'm not sure, I just know that is beneficial to your plants, bc its coal.


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## Monster Fish

Mattb126 said:


> I'm not sure, I just know that is beneficial to your plants, bc its coal.


It's inert. BDBS is mostly silicon dioxide and aluminum oxide.


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## Hilde

Mattb126 said:


> There's no tractor supply near me, is it available at Lowes/HD? Is there any specific brand?
> 
> Sent from my iPhone 8 (Dev) using Tapatalk


I see it at Home Depot but is 2x the cost of bag at Tractor supply. I paid $10 for it at tractor supply. They sell 24lb bag of 20-40 for $24.
I use 40-80 blasting sand.

Here is 1 found I found googling aquariums with black sand.


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## Mattb126

Monster Fish said:


> It's inert. BDBS is mostly silicon dioxide and aluminum oxide.


Read second post down. 
https://m.reddit.com/r/PlantedTank/comments/2a8h89/black_diamond_blasting_sand/


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## York1

Mattb126 said:


> Read second post down.
> https://m.reddit.com/r/PlantedTank/comments/2a8h89/black_diamond_blasting_sand/


A reddit post means nothing. Do you have a link to a credible source? I googled it and found nothing saying it had any nutrients


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## Monster Fish

Mattb126 said:


> Read second post down.
> https://m.reddit.com/r/PlantedTank/comments/2a8h89/black_diamond_blasting_sand/


They just link to one of the threads from TPT lol

Anyways, check out the MSDS and tell me if there's any nutrients available to the plants.


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## natemcnutty

Yeah, BDSD is inert... As much as I love the stuff, it has no nutrients available to plants. As @Monster Fish said, check the MSDS 

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## Olskule

Hilde said:


> I see it at Home Depot but is 2x the cost of bag at Tractor supply. I paid $10 for it at tractor supply. They sell 24lb bag of 20-40 for $24.
> I use 40-80 blasting sand....


I'm assuming the bag you get at Tractor Supply for $10 is the same 50# bag that I buy at T.S. here for just under $8, which for you would be $0.20/lb ($0.16/lb for me), which makes the 24# bag at Home Depot (at $24) *5 times the price* per lb that you pay (6 1/4X what I pay), so I'd say that Home Depot is making a killing on the stuff! I can understand different markets having a bit of a difference in price (like your region vs. my region), but 5 times the price per pound? Can you say "rip-off"? :angryfire At that price, it's like they are pricing it for the actual specialized aquarium market, like what you pay for specially packaged "aquarium gravel" at a pet store vs. pea gravel (often the same thing) at the home improvement/garden center!

That's one thing I like about this forum, is you get the word not only on _what_ to buy, but also on _where_ to buy and where _NOT_ to buy.

Olskule


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## SwissCheeseHead

Im getting a new 75 and was thinking about using blasting dand as a substrate also. I have pool filter sand in my 36 right now. How many bags will i need? I read someone in an earlier post used the entire 50lb bag for a 20 gallon, so should i expect to use 4 bags then?


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## Econde

SwissCheeseHead said:


> Im getting a new 75 and was thinking about using blasting dand as a substrate also. I have pool filter sand in my 36 right now. How many bags will i need? I read someone in an earlier post used the entire 50lb bag for a 20 gallon, so should i expect to use 4 bags then?


Probably 3, depending on how high you want your substrate to be.

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## SwissCheeseHead

Probably 2-3 inches. The closest TSC is 30 miles away I so want to make sure i get what i need in one trip 😊


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## Econde

SwissCheeseHead said:


> Probably 2-3 inches. The closest TSC is 30 miles away I so want to make sure i get what i need in one trip 😊


Go for four jic! Still cheaper than all the other substrates. That way you can build it up or down as you see fit. 200Lbs of BDBS 

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## MUTigers

We used 1 bag in a 40 breeder. It's not super deep, maybe 1-2." We're thinking about adding more in a month or two.


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## York1

SwissCheeseHead said:


> Im getting a new 75 and was thinking about using blasting dand as a substrate also. I have pool filter sand in my 36 right now. How many bags will i need? I read someone in an earlier post used the entire 50lb bag for a 20 gallon, so should i expect to use 4 bags then?


I used 3 in both of my 75s. I did end up adding a little more after a few weeks. I would get 4 just to be safe


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## MCHRKiller

I love BDBS...use it in 5 of my tanks. My only complaint is diatoms for the first couple of months with it. I encourage anyone who uses BD or Pool sand get some SeaGel...when I use it the diatoms quickly go away. Never had BD compact or cause issues; plants love the stuff even though it is inert. Most successful Crypt tank I ever ran had 1 bag of BD 20/40 and 2 bags of black Flourish sand.


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## Paul1307

I'd be curious: has anyone combined this substrate with dirt, say an inch of dirt under an inch or two of BD on top? That would seem to be an almost ideal combination, the organics of the dirts and all of those advantages, followed with a nice clean inert topping?

BTW, tried using black gravel for a 10-gal from the local fish/pet chain store, and the stuff on top had its "black" rubbed/worn/disappear so that the top of the top layer is now white (grr) with some vestigial black on the underside and in the crevices - who knew?


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## Hoppy

Paul1307 said:


> I'd be curious: has anyone combined this substrate with dirt, say an inch of dirt under an inch or two of BD on top? That would seem to be an almost ideal combination, the organics of the dirts and all of those advantages, followed with a nice clean inert topping?


Yes, I used it once as a top layer over an inch of mineralized river silt. It worked very well, and I'm getting ready to set up my tank again with mineralized backyard topsoil and black blasting sand as the top layer.


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## bbroush

Hoppy said:


> Yes, I used it once as a top layer over an inch of mineralized river silt. It worked very well, and I'm getting ready to set up my tank again with mineralized backyard topsoil and black blasting sand as the top layer.




My tank is set up similarly, with BDBS capping MGOC potting soil. I think this is a common cap to dirted tanks


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## mrswis

Hey, not sure if this has been answered in this thread yet.. Thinking about using black blasting sand for my next setup. Can I just use the blasting sand substrate and nothing else?


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## Econde

mrswis said:


> Hey, not sure if this has been answered in this thread yet.. Thinking about using black blasting sand for my next setup. Can I just use the blasting sand substrate and nothing else?


Yes of course. Just be prepared to dose ferts and what not. It will be just like having eco complete.

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## Hilde

mrswis said:


> Hey, not sure if this has been answered in this thread yet.. Thinking about using black blasting sand for my next setup. Can I just use the blasting sand substrate and nothing else?


 It really depends on the plants you get. If they need high nutrient substrate add root tabs.


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## mrswis

> Yes of course. Just be prepared to dose ferts and what not. It will be just like having eco complete.


Oh, excellent! So does the sand itself have some sort of nutrients by itself? Still a newbie to all this stuff, so sorry about all the questions lol.
I just love the way the plants look with the dirt and was hoping to achieve the same lush green, but hopefully without the dirt? It's hard to move plants around and take them out with the dirt since every time I'd disturb them, I'd get a huge mess in the tank.



> It really depends on the plants you get. If they need high nutrient substrate add root tabs.


In the tank right now I have java fern, dwarf sag, jungle val, java moss and some other plant I have no idea what it is lol. 
I'm also looking to possibly add some wisteria, ludwiga and hopefully baby tears to the new tank. How would these plants do with just the black diamond sand substrate and root tabs?


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## Econde

It will be inert. Just really easy to plant with. A lot of plants take nutrients from the water column. BDBS, I beleive, does not offer anything substantial if any at all.

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## bbroush

mrswis said:


> Oh, excellent! So does the sand itself have some sort of nutrients by itself? Still a newbie to all this stuff, so sorry about all the questions lol.
> 
> I just love the way the plants look with the dirt and was hoping to achieve the same lush green, but hopefully without the dirt? It's hard to move plants around and take them out with the dirt since every time I'd disturb them, I'd get a huge mess in the tank.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> In the tank right now I have java fern, dwarf sag, jungle val, java moss and some other plant I have no idea what it is lol.
> 
> I'm also looking to possibly add some wisteria, ludwiga and hopefully baby tears to the new tank. How would these plants do with just the black diamond sand substrate and root tabs?




TBH if you're diligent with root tabs I don't see why not.


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## bbroush

Econde said:


> It will be inert. Just really easy to plant with. A lot of plants take nutrients from the water column. BDBS, I beleive, does not offer anything substantial if any at all.
> 
> Sent from my A0001 using Tapatalk




Truth re: the inert-ness. That was hashed out here, or elsewhere.


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## Econde

bbroush said:


> TBH if you're diligent with root tabs I don't see why not.


So true. I forget about those. Dirt underneath would be so much easier [emoji16] 

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## mrswis

> TBH if you're diligent with root tabs I don't see why not.


Haha, you see I don't know if I would trust myself to keep up with those. Was hoping the sand would at least have something to it. But I guess I'll put a small layer of dirt underneath and cap it really good with the sand so that it doesn't make a huge mess when the plants are up rooted.

Thank you guys, you've really helped!


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## bbroush

mrswis said:


> Haha, you see I don't know if I would trust myself to keep up with those. Was hoping the sand would at least have something to it. But I guess I'll put a small layer of dirt underneath and cap it really good with the sand so that it doesn't make a huge mess when the plants are up rooted.
> 
> 
> 
> Thank you guys, you've really helped!




Getting good at the dirt levels vs sand cap is something I struggle at. Follow Walstad's method with >1 inch of dirt and more than that of sand. Good luck!


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## mrswis

> Getting good at the dirt levels vs sand cap is something I struggle at. Follow Walstad's method with >1 inch of dirt and more than that of sand. Good luck!


Yes, me too! In my current tank I have a side where there's barely any gravel and it's basically just dirt which gets stirred up quite a bit. Gravel on top of dirt is not something I recommend.. So I'm glad this place has brought my attention to the blasting sand.  Thankfully there's a tractor supply right down the road, so hopefully they carry some there.

I think that's what I'll do, an inch of dirt with about 2 inches of the sand or so.


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## bbroush

mrswis said:


> Yes, me too! In my current tank I have a side where there's barely any gravel and it's basically just dirt which gets stirred up quite a bit. Gravel on top of dirt is not something I recommend.. So I'm glad this place has brought my attention to the blasting sand.  Thankfully there's a tractor supply right down the road, so hopefully they carry some there.
> 
> 
> 
> I think that's what I'll do, an inch of dirt with about 2 inches of the sand or so.




Good luck!


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## natemcnutty

bbroush said:


> TBH if you're diligent with root tabs I don't see why not.


I'm using BDSD in all of my tanks, and I've yet to have a plant that won't grow without them. Maybe my crypts would grow even better with them? They have been pretty slow growing, but not sure if that's any different than expected... Do you have any examples that absolutely need root tabs?


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## bbroush

natemcnutty said:


> I'm using BDSD in all of my tanks, and I've yet to have a plant that won't grow without them. Maybe my crypts would grow even better with them? They have been pretty slow growing, but not sure if that's any different than expected... Do you have any examples that absolutely need root tabs?




I was more making a comparison to how you could make BDBS on its own 'as beneficial' as dirted, (with root tabs). Iron deficiency seems to be solved with root tabs/clay. Also heavy root feeders like swords have been known to benefit as well.


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## Hilde

mrswis said:


> I'm also looking to possibly add some wisteria, ludwiga and hopefully baby tears to the new tank. How would e Some ludwiga require Co2 injected. Check here


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## Ben Belton

I have seen a couple people post in other threads about the BD sand being a tiny bit oily when you first get it, and they recommend a little bit of soap in your rinse. No one here mentions that. Does anyone have an opinion?


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## Freemananana

Ben Belton said:


> I have seen a couple people post in other threads about the BD sand being a tiny bit oily when you first get it, and they recommend a little bit of soap in your rinse. No one here mentions that. Does anyone have an opinion?


I vote no on soap. Just regular tap water and a bucket if you want to rinse it.


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## York1

Ben Belton said:


> I have seen a couple people post in other threads about the BD sand being a tiny bit oily when you first get it, and they recommend a little bit of soap in your rinse. No one here mentions that. Does anyone have an opinion?


Ive used it in all my tanks and never used any soap. I just rinsed it over and over


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## bbroush

Ben Belton said:


> I have seen a couple people post in other threads about the BD sand being a tiny bit oily when you first get it, and they recommend a little bit of soap in your rinse. No one here mentions that. Does anyone have an opinion?




I wouldn't use soap at all. A couple soak and rinse cycles and pouring off floaters and you'll be fine.


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## Hilde

It eventually goes away. You can just pull the oil off the top with paper towels.


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## Econde

Yep no soap. I just propped my bucket at a slight angle and let the water do the rest. It helps to kind stir the sand at the bottom a bit to get the smaller particulates out. 

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## joebob296

I never rinsed any of it for my 100 gallon. When I do water changes I take off the oil. Sense there is a top over it you can't see the oil anyway.

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## Hilde

mrswis said:


> In the tank right now I have java fern, dwarf sag, jungle val, java moss and some other plant I have no idea what it is lol.
> I'm also looking to possibly add some wisteria, ludwiga and hopefully baby tears to the new tank. How would these plants do with just the black diamond sand substrate and root tabs?


I don't think the stem plants need root tabs. They can grow in anything. They are nitrate hogs. Baby tears I have had no luck with. It needs a strong light. Marsilea would be easier to grow than Baby tears (Hemianthus Cuba)

Here is trallen's tank which root tabs were used with.

Here is a low tech thread for inspiration.


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## rewsemail

No soap, if you do get any oil from the sand it'll flat to the top as you rinse it off and will flow over the top of your container. I haven't had this problem yet though with my BD tanks (6 of them)

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## diverjoe

I've been using bdbs in my 75 for about 3 mos now. Great results! My suggestion is to sift it. I saw the oily substance on top and wouldn't be surprised if it wasn't just superfine sand. I used a penplax $10 undergravel filter plate
For most of it as the slits only let the superfine stuff through giving you a better yield per scoop sifted. I got about 2/3 firing it. Last couple of bags I used the back of one of our deck chairs that has a mesh that is the size of window screen just heavier it kept back only the thicker grit. I had about a 1/3 yield with it. MTS navigate it super well plants love it the roots are amazing. Corys barbels show no signs of wear (I think another fallacy on web). And yes to drop it in a hard floor it is horribly to get up as it is heavier than sand and tends to just get shot around with the vacuums also it will tear up your floor if you walk in it as it is very hard. 

I was most successful with rinsing in one of those larger totes 30qt? Put a firehouse type sprayer that makes just a straight jet and point at the bottom while moving around keeping vertical. It will boil the sand in a cloud and release all that is "floaty". When the tub is full make one last big cloud and the quickly dump all the floaties. 


https://flickr.com/#/photos/diverjoe/sets/72157675183487964













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## MtAnimals

that Tank is Beautiful! nice job!!


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## klibs

never use soap

just take it outside and rinse it out in sheetrock buckets. it will take you like an hour tops


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