Looking For Silica Free Dark Black Sand

[JohnG]

I have been trying to find some dark black sand that is silica free for my new sting ray tank, I have been able to find some dark grey sand, but nothing thats really black. Looking for something like what is seen is this picture:

Any advice on where I might be able to get some would be appreciated.

 

[MonsterChef]

Tahitian Moon - not sure of "silica free"

 

[jeffers]

estes has some that is silica free.

 

[nugpuffer]

3M Colorquartz if you can find it. It's been discontinued, but but quite a few pool and concrete supply centers still have some in stock (Check 3M's website to find a distributor near you). S-grade would probably work best for your rays, and the last time I bought it, it cost me ~$25 per 50lb bag.

 

[creepyoldguy]

Tahitian Moon - not sure of "silica free"

I have that stuff and although it looks really good when clean, the second a fish poops it shows. It's also very light and easily blows all over the place. All in all, for the looks, the clean up isnt bad. Just my opinion

 

[bjbass]

3M Colorquartz if you can find it. It's been discontinued, but but quite a few pool and concrete supply centers still have some in stock (Check 3M's website to find a distributor near you). S-grade would probably work best for your rays, and the last time I bought it, it cost me ~$25 per 50lb bag.

I don't think they show the distributors anymore on the website. I have been looking for somebody that has it in Central, PA for a long time now and have now found any. I am looking for a bag of tan in the S-Grade.

 

[Gervahlt]

Spectraquartz "F" grade is the same as the old Colorquartz "S" grade from everything I've read. They use the same distributors (N.T. Ruddock that I've used, and Kretus Group that I haven't used) and there are even a few places online that will ship if you don't mind paying shipping on substrate. Just type in spectraquartz in google and hit the shopping link.

Colorquartz was great stuff: heavy, smooth, doesn't fade or wash out, chemically inert, perfectly sized particles so it doesn't compact like normal sand. Spectraquartz looks like the same process sold to another manufacturer. N.T. Ruddock even still shows the same pics of the product on their website as they did before using the new name. They can either sell the pure colors (like black), or you can ask them to create a mix for you to get something more natural looking.