Black Diamond Sand ok for cory cats?

The bag has a line through 2 boxes. The numbers are 16/30 and 12/40. Is this grit sand okay for Cory Cats or no?

 

I believe that means it's a mix of the two sizes.. Mine was the same way, should be fine. Just rinse it really good.. My corys are fine in it.. everybody else says the same thing..

 

I was wondering if anyone has a cheap but nice looking black sand that is also okay for the Cory's I am getting? So far I was looking at Black Diamond Blasting Sand (BDBS) as its cheap but the store that carries it near me has it marked in two boxes on the bag which are 16/30 and 12/40. I don't know if this would be okay for my Cory's?

Okay, I thought it meant grit as many refer to 20/40 as medium?

 

I believe it is the grit.. but it's a combination of the two sizes. My had the same line through both boxes and my cory's don't have any issues with it.

 

Okay, thanks I thought you meant similar situation but maybe different numbers. Can never take too many precautions with your fish.

 

That is fine grit. Should be ok. I am using the 20/40 medium grit and there is now issues with the Cory’s.

Just have to be more careful that your filter doesn’t suck up the finer stuff.

 

I've not heard of issues with bdbs and Cory's. What problems are you having?
Also, the blasting sand is heavy and stays on the bottom pretty well.

 

I would stick with medium grit if you can. Fine is too powdery for me.

 

I've not heard of issues with bdbs and Cory's. What problems are you having?
Also, the blasting sand is heavy and stays on the bottom pretty well.

It’s all hear say and I haven’t seen any proof but I have read about people saying the bdbs was to sharp for there belly and barbs.

How fine is yours actually. Around here the fine bdbs is very fine like sugar.

 

Agree, what I just put in myntank for the cories is very fine, definitely comparable to white sugar. I bought it at Menards, and I'm not sure if everyone's is like this but mine definitely has a gold tint to it, not pure black. I hadn't heard that before and was a little surprised to see.

 

The gold tint is the same here as well in the fine stuff but it seems to depend on the lot. Some bags are worse than others.

The medium isn’t completely black either. It has bigger chunks of brownish goldish pieces.

 

Closer look.

 

Yeah, same here. There are some brown and amber color. I actually like it.

 

The bag has a line through 2 boxes. The numbers are 16/30 and 12/40. Is this grit sand okay for Cory Cats or no?

I reread everything and apologize for the confusion. The sand you have is more coarse. Most people buy the 20/40. It is kinda in the middle. 10/40 would be the most coarse and 40/80 is the finest.

It’s hard to tell when they mark the bags because when they check the box with the actual grit they swipe all the other boxes behind it.

 

Looking at the picture above which is 20/40 grit if you rotate the picture 90 degrees counter clockwise you can see what I mean about the check.

Here is a page that should help clear up the grit sizes. It should be a stickie somewhere to help everyone with the bdbs. Lol

 

Okay thanks I'll have to stop by the tractor supply and see if the mark reaches the 20/40. If it isn't at 20/40 but just one to the left or right of it, should I try somewhere else for 20 /40 or do you think it won't cause any issues?I've heard of people having issues with their Cory's in it but at the same time I've heard of many people having several tanks with BDBS and no issues at all.

 

Tractor supply only sells the medium and fine I believe. My bag had a straight line through 20/40 and 16/30.. originally assumed it was a blend, but now believe sloppy markings from BDBS and it was just 20/40. It still took a lot of rinsing to get all the dust out. I didn't even get it all... somebody else on here used a mesh screen to 'sift' it, said it worked really well.

 

Texasguppy is right about tractor supply only selling medium and fine but one TSC here actually did have coarse for some reason.

I’d stick to the 20/40.That seems to be the safest bet. If your unsure about the grit size because of the marking just have them scan it and it’ll tell you the actual grit.

 

Yeah I was going to ask as an extra precaution. Thanks for the help everyone.

 

No problem. Remember, don’t try to rinse the entire bag at the same time. Do small batches.

 

Any methods preferred? I saw one where someone filled the bottom of a bucket and ran a hose in it letting it overflow cleaning it out. But where I'm currently at doesn't have a hose so any alternatives?

 

I did the same but I did mine in the bathtub

 

Put the bucket in the bathtub. I just let it sit for a minute to settle and poured the water off.
I only did this like 3 times, and my tank was clear within a few hours, with everything being still visible almost immediately.

 

I put mine in a bathtub too and let the water flood the bucket. then I would use my arms to stir and rinse the sand. It works great. just makes sure you know that's it's fine and can go down your drain. Too much might clog it.

 

It was 20/40 just very poorly marked. Ill be doing tub method too.

 

If you haven’t cleaned it yet it seems to help if you fill the bucket with water first,letting it overflow then pour a portion of the sand into the water. Then give it a good mixing by hand then dump water and refill the bucket.

Stir and mix the sand thoroughly with fresh water until your happy. It doesn’t need to be crystal clear when you add it to the tank. As long as you give it some good mixing in fresh water a few times the tank wouldn’t cloud too bad and will clear up pretty quick.

 

Thanks, currently cleaning right now and man when people say it takes awhile they're not joking about half way through and it's been maybe 2 hours or more. My method so far has been to fill the bottom of the bucket and alittle higher then drench it let it overflow and stir with my hang every now and then.

 

Yes it’s tiring. Your arm will be wore out, but the more you mix it by hand with the fresh water the faster it’ll go.
Just mostly flushing it with water will take forever.

 

Yeah I'll be up all night cleaning the sand and then cleaning up the sand left behind but it's worth it for the more appealing look and a better substrate for my Cory cats. Now I just have to decide on some decorations to make a more natural look.

 

Lol. It never ends, does it?

 

Feels like the bag is never ending. At least when I get the tank set up and put the sand in I can sit down and enjoy it, until I have to start planning where to plant my plants

 

Has anyone kept corydoras on black diamond blasting sand without issues?

 

Yup. They love it. So do my loaches and I’d barely ever seen them before I switched to it

 

There was a recent thread about it which was meand as a warning.

 

There was a recent thread about it which was meand as a warning.

It still is very uncommon for it to rust. And if it did it’s rarer still for more than one or two little pieces to rust.

 

It still is very uncommon for it to rust. And if it did it’s rarer still for more than one or two little pieces to rust.

I didn't judge (never used it and it isn't even available here I think) but only pointed to the recent thread.

But over the years a lot of members have been quite happy with the use of it.

I myself am a PFS-addict.

 

I didn't judge (never used it and it isn't even available here I think) but only pointed to the recent thread.

But over the years a lot of members have been quite happy with the use of it.

I myself am a PFS-addict.

Yeah PFS is a pretty great one Never used it but lots of members enjoy it. Maybe I’ll try it sometime!

 

Yeah PFS is a pretty great one Never used it but lots of members enjoy it. Maybe I’ll try it sometime!

I've used both for tanks with corydoras with no issues at all. My Sterbai breeding tank has a thin layer of BDBS. I've raised my Sterbai juveniles on BDBS and PFS with no issues.

 

I didn't judge (never used it and it isn't even available here I think) but only pointed to the recent thread.

But over the years a lot of members have been quite happy with the use of it.

I myself am a PFS-addict.

Me too. I really like not having to rinse it. I do have BDBS in my red shrimp tank because I think they show up better against the black, and if I ever get a tank for yellow shrimp I plan to use it again.

 

Excuse the dirty tank glass. Some of my Sterbai breeding group.