Black Diamond Blasting Media Sand Pictures Of Washing

I washed some more black diamond "sand" (actually coal slag) and took pictures of each step. I know when I first got some I was wanting pictures to know what to expect.

I got one 50 pound bag of the medium grit (20/40). It doesn't feel sharp and my cories do fine in it. It doesn't cut or hurt my skin but it does scratch up my nails. So if you care about that I recommend using a stick or strong wooden spoon.

I'm weak so I only filled a 4 gallon bucket a little lower than half way. (The second batch I filled a little over halfway and made a lot more of a mess.)

1) Filled bucket with hot tap water. Didn't even have to stir to get this stuff up.




Pouring off the first rinse water. I was pleased at how much the sand clumps together and doesn't readily want to run out of the bucket if you go slowly enough. You don't even have to go painfully slow.


2) Second wash


3) Third wash, dig a little deeper with the spoon and got some more dust up.


4) Fourth wash


5) Fifth wash, I started to be able to see the sand below the water.


6) Sixth wash


7) Seventh wash, just for kicks and science...


When I fill the tank with water I do it fairly slowly onto a plate so the water doesn't kick up the sand. My water is pretty clean after an hour. Hope that helps another visual learner like me!

 

Filling the tank with water I'm surprised how clear the water is before even settling. The plate floated so I gave up.

 

When I wash BDBS, I do at least 10-12 rinses per 10 pounds. More like 14-16 for 15 pounds. Water clears up within 15-20 minutes after filling. I also noticed it's really soft too. Didn't scrape my skin like the National Geographic White Sand did that I've also used.

 

Curious, why not go outside and just use facet water and get that continued water stream going? Dump the water outside so it doesn't do damage to the pipes.

 

Curious, why not go outside and just use facet water and get that continued water stream going? Dump the water outside so it doesn't do damage to the pipes.

Because I complicate everything! Also, I heard you were supposed to use hot water. Doing it outside would be genius. I was horrified how much went down the drain due to me spilling (not when dumping the bucket, but at other times)

How do you set yours up to rinse it? Does it just stay in the bucket and you can fill the bucket to overflowing? Because if it did I could fill an 18 gallon tub with the entire bag and rinse it super efficiently!

 

Because I complicate everything! Also, I heard you were supposed to use hot water. Doing it outside would be genius. I was horrified how much went down the drain due to me spilling (not when dumping the bucket, but at other times)

How do you set yours up to rinse it? Does it just stay in the bucket and you can fill the bucket to overflowing? Because if it did I could fill an 18 gallon tub with the entire bag and rinse it super efficiently!

I've not dealt with black diamond sand but I would think the process of cleaning is the same. When I did pool filter sand I put like 5 lbs in a 5 gallon bucket and stuck a hose in there and stirred it around. The overflow from the water will drain all the dust or you can pour it out into the yard and continue to stir until it was crystal clear.

If you don't want to use a hand you can use a wooden stick or a shovel if you have a small enough shovel and it's clean.

I like using a 5 gallon bucket so you can just transport it to the tank, refill new sand and rinse and repeat the process.

 

I've not dealt with black diamond sand but I would think the process of cleaning is the same. When I did pool filter sand I put like 5 lbs in a 5 gallon bucket and stuck a hose in there and stirred it around. The overflow from the water will drain all the dust or you can pour it out into the yard and continue to stir until it was crystal clear.

If you don't want to use a hand you can use a wooden stick or a shovel if you have a small enough shovel and it's clean.

I like using a 5 gallon bucket so you can just transport it to the tank, refill new sand and rinse and repeat the process.

Yeah, that sounds like a way better option. Thanks!