rads
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- Mar 19, 2021
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Hey everyone,
I recently added some black sand into my axolotl tank. I gave it a thought as it seemed a tad coarse, but prior to purchasing I went through some (read: a lot) of examples of safe vs not safe grain sizes and black sands. After that, I didn’t really give it a second thought until now.
I was reading through posts as I normally do and came across some more black sand specific posts. To my horror I began to read stories of liver failure and more due to black sands.
I’ve read that the Tahitian Black Moon sand from Carib sea is bad news. Luckily, that isn’t what I purchased. I opted for “Aqua Natural Diamond Black”. I hand washed and again, noted it was coarser than the sand in my other tank but didn’t feel as though it was particularly “sharp” and no other red flags really went off. I know our hands are a little tougher than axi skin though. But I guess this sand is comparable to the diamond blasting sand??
Also, I ran a magnet over it out of curiosity and some did stick to it. I have not noted any pH changes or other adverse affects. Axolotls seem the same as always with no signs of stress but I realize this can change with time of stuff is leaching into the water.
I couldn’t find anything specific on that brand of sand, but I can’t imagine it differs from any other brand by that much.
So, opinions on it? Should I pull it out? Will it be ok? Is there safer alternatives to keep dark/black sand? I know sand always comes with inherent risks but I like to tub feed my axolotls for cleanliness (and while I clean their tanks/ do water changes so two birds one stone), keep possible nips at bay, and to lower the chances of sand ingestion in general.
They are all bigger than 4 inches as well.
I recently added some black sand into my axolotl tank. I gave it a thought as it seemed a tad coarse, but prior to purchasing I went through some (read: a lot) of examples of safe vs not safe grain sizes and black sands. After that, I didn’t really give it a second thought until now.
I was reading through posts as I normally do and came across some more black sand specific posts. To my horror I began to read stories of liver failure and more due to black sands.
I’ve read that the Tahitian Black Moon sand from Carib sea is bad news. Luckily, that isn’t what I purchased. I opted for “Aqua Natural Diamond Black”. I hand washed and again, noted it was coarser than the sand in my other tank but didn’t feel as though it was particularly “sharp” and no other red flags really went off. I know our hands are a little tougher than axi skin though. But I guess this sand is comparable to the diamond blasting sand??
Also, I ran a magnet over it out of curiosity and some did stick to it. I have not noted any pH changes or other adverse affects. Axolotls seem the same as always with no signs of stress but I realize this can change with time of stuff is leaching into the water.
I couldn’t find anything specific on that brand of sand, but I can’t imagine it differs from any other brand by that much.
So, opinions on it? Should I pull it out? Will it be ok? Is there safer alternatives to keep dark/black sand? I know sand always comes with inherent risks but I like to tub feed my axolotls for cleanliness (and while I clean their tanks/ do water changes so two birds one stone), keep possible nips at bay, and to lower the chances of sand ingestion in general.
They are all bigger than 4 inches as well.
