# copper slag sand blasting media?



## MeioFormiga (Jan 18, 2007)

In the interior of BC here in Canada is the remains of a copper smelter than ran for decades, left over from it is an unknown amount of cubic kilometers of copper slag. It's used in that part of the world as insulation, sand blasting sand, sand used in road construction, etc... They've been using it for decades now without putting a dent in it, and it is cheap and plentiful.

Would it be safe for aquarium use? It's sort of shiny and black as black gets. It would be attractive sand, and for that matter larger pieces of it would be interesting for aquascaping.


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## 247Plants (Mar 23, 2006)

Copper = BBBAAAAADDDDD for the aquarium inverts.


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## DonaldmBoyer (Aug 18, 2005)

Yup...as 247 said first, you won't be able to keep snails, shrimp, or crays in that tank. They will all die. For that matter, I don't even know if aquatic plants would be able to survive such a high copper concentration. I wouldn't use it.


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## BryceM (Nov 6, 2005)

Copper is a great algicide, herbicide, and in high concentrations is a great everything-cide. I wouldn't recommend it.


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## MeioFormiga (Jan 18, 2007)

Alright, copper is bad - simple enough. What is the black sand blasting sand that's being used then?


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## BryceM (Nov 6, 2005)

It's usually called Black Beauty. I've never used it and I'm not sure where you'd get it though.


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## 247Plants (Mar 23, 2006)

Rumor as of late in the aquarium world on the black beauty is that its not the same thing it used to be and has more impurities than it used to.


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## AaronT (Apr 26, 2004)

Check out 3M's Colorquartz Aggregate. It's ceramic coated quartz crystals. It's made for coloring flooring and pools, but it works great as a planted tank substrate. http://www.3m.com/product/information/Colorquartz-Aggregate.html!

You'll want the T-grade as the S-grade is very fine in texture and doesn't hold plants nearly as well. It comes in black too.  Just use the retailer locator on the website to find it near you or call 3M.


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## vic46 (Oct 20, 2006)

MeioFormiga said:


> In the interior of BC here in Canada is the remains of a copper smelter than ran for decades, left over from it is an unknown amount of cubic kilometers of copper slag. It's used in that part of the world as insulation, sand blasting sand, sand used in road construction, etc... They've been using it for decades now without putting a dent in it, and it is cheap and plentiful.
> 
> Would it be safe for aquarium use? It's sort of shiny and black as black gets. It would be attractive sand, and for that matter larger pieces of it would be interesting for aquascaping.


A little story:
A good friend of mine has a 32' sail boat that he berths in a private marina on Sylvan Lake in Central Alberta. He bought the boat from a broker in Vancouver about 10 years ago. At purchase, the boat had just had the bottom paint redone with a copper based anti fowling paint. Now remember this was 10 years ao. Today, there is NO plant growth beneth his boat in the marina, or under the boats on either side in water that is about 15 feet deep. The copper content in the paint is intended to forestall aquatic growth on the hull, That is an efficient operation thing, clean is quicker than dirty. However, the moral of the storey is that the copper in the antifowling paint is leaching off the hull and terminating growth for a large circle below the boat. Needless to say, puting copper in an aquarium is likely to lead to disaster. If the copper will iradicate plant life, I can't think it is likely to be all that good for the fawna in the tank. And, bye the way, the product used to treat the hull of my friend's boat has been off the market for about 8 years as a result of its environmentl impact. (Shades of DDT and Agent Orange)
Vic


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## snowy (Jun 6, 2006)

I'm pretty sure the slag left over from copper smelting (scoria) is inert and does not actually contain any copper in it, surprising as it may seem. Of course there is the concern that it may be contaminated with copper, especially if it has been lying around for a while.

I would do some further research and testing of your own.


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## Newt (Apr 1, 2004)

Black Beauty is Aluminum Oxide and can have lots of (BAD) imputrities. Depends on the source.


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