# Black Beauty as sole substrate



## sdy284 (Feb 21, 2008)

32 views and no replies?


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## fishscale (May 29, 2007)

I've never heard of it. Anything on the label tell you what the contents are?


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## mgamer20o0 (Mar 8, 2007)

> I found a supplier of black beauty sand. He is trying to get rid of
> the stuff and will sell it to me for $5 /100lb bag. This seemed too good
> too be true, so I did some investigating to see if it will be safe.
> 
> ...


http://www.thekrib.com/TankHardware/sand.html



> Gee, I can't believe they sell this stuff in a *pet shop*. I have a bag at home
> that I use for sandblasting (which is what it's normally used for). Since
> there have been a few posts about it lately, I decided to take a close look at
> the stuff. First, the particles are *really* small (finer than regular masonry
> ...


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## lauraleellbp (Feb 3, 2008)

Yikes that's pretty scary! I don't think the high iron content is an issue (that's what Laterite and Fluorite are high in as well) but those reports re: the sharpness definitely would scare me away.


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## yznj99 (Nov 1, 2004)

It's not that sharp, I used it as a substrate, beautiful at first, but gets dirty quickly, much like a black car needs to be cleaned more often.


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## honor (Apr 8, 2008)

yeah, debris shows up too well on it's surface.


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## SeaSerpant (Feb 20, 2008)

well i was searching it up and you can buy it fine and extra fine too. I am going to buy some of it some time this week so we'll see how it goes. it may sound scary but the smaller it is the less sharp it is.


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## sdy284 (Feb 21, 2008)

yea i mean i was mixing it around in a bucket with my bare hand, and it felt like regular sand to me...

I mean the only reason i really got it was that it was pretty damn cheap. Do you guys think i should try and get some Flourite Black Sand instead?

I mean this tank will be planted, but it will be primarily for cherry shrimp, an otto or 2 and not much else...


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## SeaSerpant (Feb 20, 2008)

did you buy fine or ex fine?


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## ExTramp (Aug 22, 2006)

Black Beauty is coal slag not copper slag.

You can view an msds at this link.
http://www.reedmin.com/uploads/files/b83d4a28c18b41be93fdf04b7e814027.pdf


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## sdy284 (Feb 21, 2008)

so should i switch it out for flourite black sand or what? this will be a primary shrimp tank & won't focus as much on plants


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## SeaSerpant (Feb 20, 2008)

did you get fine or extra fine? how big are the granules (mm)?


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## ExTramp (Aug 22, 2006)

Personally I wouldn't use it.


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## imeridian (Jan 19, 2007)

The relatively high level of Aluminum is a bit of a concern, isn't it?

If it weren't for that, while I doubt I'd use it myself, it doesn't seem so bad... mostly sand with a good portion of Iron.


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## ExTramp (Aug 22, 2006)

I sell lots of this stuff... for sand blasting. Which means it is angular and abrasive. 

I would think it could be potentially damaging to your fish.


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## crazie.eddie (May 31, 2004)

What company distributes the product? If it's by Diaz Rock and Gravel in Plainfield, IL, then it should be no problem. I use it as a lone substrate in my 20 gallon long planted (Shrimps and 4*L-046 zebra plecos) tank. I also use the same substrate in my 29 gallon planted tank with shrimps and an L-183 pleco. No issues as I know of and I've been using it for about 3 years now.


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## aznkonner (Oct 18, 2007)

anyone else know anythign about this product? it looks like a cheap alternative to the other black sands out there. if it's safe i'd like to use it in some tanks that would probably house puffers, loaches, shrimp, and if possible my display tank which would house various discus, roseline barbs, and of course plants.


Edit: nm read up on black beauty a little more and it turns out it isn't safe for aquariums. some may have luck with it but there are enough people out there that have had problems with it to make me think twice.


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