Which Sand to use?

[Leeman75]

I'm working to determine which brand of Sand to use for my aquarium. I love Black sand and would like to put that into my 20 gallon Hex project. The two brand that I'm trying to make a decision between are Seachem Flourite Black Sand or Imagitarium Black Sand. I use Seachem products in a lot of other places and they don't let me down, but from a simple economics standpoint, I can get 20 pounds of the Imagitarium for about half the cost of 15 pounds of the Flourite Black Sand. I'm not sure that 15 pounds will be enough for my tank, though I'm pretty sure that 20 would. So the cost may be even more if I go with the Flourite.

Is it really worth it?

 

[MrBryan723]

Go to tractor supply and get some black blasting sand.

 

[Tol]

Unless you are going for a heavily planted tank, I wouldn't bother with Flourite. The Imagitarium sand is half the price for more. I use medium grit Black Diamond Blasting Sand from tractor supply. $8 for 50lbs. Some people don't like it for one reason or another, but it works for me. Cheap, looks nice and holds plants easily.

 

[Leeman75]

Is this the stuff that you're talking about: https://www.farmandfleet.com/produc...I15qbjuX-6gIVp__jBx2J7gQsEAQYASABEgLETvD_BwE#

 

[mimo91088]

Agreed. Blasting sand is the way to go if you want black sand at a cheap price.

 

[FishGirl115]

Yep. Black blasting sand

 

[Tol]

yup, I would recommend the medium grit not the fine grit. Wash it really well. It does have some lighter colors in it, if you are aiming for absolute jet black sand, go with the Imaginitarium stuff instead. Here is what it looks like:

 

[jkkgron2]

Here’s what my Black diamond blasting sand looks like. I’m guessing I got the medium grit because it looks like what Tol has?

 

[Leeman75]

yup, I would recommend the medium grit not the fine grit. Wash it really well. It does have some lighter colors in it, if you are aiming for absolute jet black sand, go with the Imaginitarium stuff instead. Here is what it looks like:

I really appreciate you all taking the time to post and share pictures. It truly helped me to make up my mind. Though $8.99 for the sand is a great deal and I do believe that I will end up getting some for other tank projects coming up, I did end up deciding on the Imaginitarium as I do like the jet black with the smaller granules. I would not have arrived at that decision without the pictures and info that you shared, so even though I didn't go with your recommendation, you helped me arrive at the decision, so THANK YOU!!