Can I use...?

[ADMWNDSR83]

I am in planning stages for  36 gallon bowfront planted angelfish/community tank, and plan to use black sand substrate to make life easy for my little cory friends.  I remember hearing somewhere that black blasting sand from a home improvement store is an acceptable and less expensive option than aquarium sand.  Is this true?  Will using blasting sand hurt my fish?  Any other options that I should look into?  Thanks! 

[LC Roszell]

I have seen many people use the more coarse version of the black blasting sand. I use the cheapest sand lowes carries in the garden center because it's a nice mix of fine and coarse grains. Pain in the bum to clean, but it also leaves me more room to buy more plants and root tabs so the trade off is worth it to me. 

 

[ADMWNDSR83]

Thanks LC.  I have a vision for this particular tank that requires black sand, but in the long run that vision may change.  

[Struggle]

I’ve used Black Diamond blasting sand for years and have not ran into any issues.

[ADMWNDSR83]

I appreciate the info struggle!  I'll be sure to post pics as the vision becomes reality!

[Dawn]

I have black blasting sand in two of my tanks.  I use the black diamond course.  It looks great and I've not had any problems. 

[ADMWNDSR83]

Thanks everyone.  Just to make sure I'm looking at the right stuff, I found black diamond blasting sand medium grit coal slag for 9.99 for a 50lb bag at tractor supply.  The coal slag part scared me so I wanted to make sure I was looking at the right stuff.  Thanks!

[Struggle]

That’s the stuff I’ve been using.

[ADMWNDSR83]

Awesome.  You're my hero.

[Nataku]

Black diamond blasting sand from Tractor supply is what I've used in my tanks for years. I love the look, the fish are happy on it, and the price tag is infinitely better than what you'll  pay for any black sand at a pet store.

Some people say its 'too rough' for bottom dwellers but my experience has been the exact opposite, I keep corydoras, dojo loaches and kuhli loaches on it (multiple tanks) and they have all been doing great on it. The corydoras have even bred and hatched babies in tanks with blasting sand substrate.