White sand or black sand?

[N1Husker]

I am moving after the 1st of July to Olalla (it's halfway between Gig Harbor and Port Orchard) and I will be moving my tank over there as well. I will be replacing my sand and I was thinking of switching to black sand. I have seen it in several tanks and I really like the look of it. Does anyone know of any negative aspects of a black sand that I should be made aware of to help me in making up my mind? I now have white oolite, and although I like the looks of it, my yellow coris wrasse likes to make it plume all over my corals, the little twerp. Is the black sand a slightly larger grain size? Any help would be appreciated.

 

[Recalibrate]

Was thinking of going with black sand in my next tank and heard some complaints of it retaining heat more than the white.

The positive I have read say that coral colors tend to look better because they pop out at you...I'll probably try a mix of black and white which I think would look interesting.

 

[N1Husker]

Was thinking of going with black sand in my next tank and heard some complaints of it retaining heat more than the white.

The positive I have read say that coral colors tend to look better because they pop out at you...I'll probably try a mix of black and white which I think would look interesting.

I can see because it being darker that it might retain more heat but I am more concerned with it being a problem with any chemical imbalance. Is it any different than regular argonite. I know that argonite helps with keeping nitrates in check, I am just not that familiar with the difference. I have my system on a controller so if it would get too warm my fan will kick on automatically to cool it down.

 

[peddy10181]

I had black sand in my 400 gallon FOWLR, it's cool at the start but I makes every thing look darker and I will never go back to black sand.

 

[NC2WA]

Earl,

wow..moving again...

with black sand make sure it is silicate free..i remember a thread on here that said most black sand is silicate based which will cause algae bloom.

 

[jaysauce]

We don't have black sand, but were thinking about doing it when we set up our 55. If you do black, you might not have to deal with the sand looking dirty? We saw some people taking pictures of their corals with black sand in the background and it looks pretty awesome. It made the corals pop a lot more, imo.

 

[N1Husker]

Earl,

wow..moving again...

with black sand make sure it is silicate free..i remember a thread on here that said most black sand is silicate based which will cause algae bloom.

This is the last time, we got a beautiful house in Olalla. My son and his better half are buying the house and we will live in it for a year while my grandsons finish their last year of high school in Bellevue. Then they will be off to the Udub and start college life. The house is a log cabin style. beautifully finished inside on 4.5 acres of land. He will then build an ADU or convert the shop into an ADU for his mom and myself (and fish). We are excited. Okay, before I get anything I will check everything out. If anyone has heard anything else let me know. I want to treat my fishies and corals right, the health of my animals is much more important than aesthetics. I have quite a few sand sifting nassarius snails and a fighting conch so I don't want to go bare bottom.

 

[kpiotrowski]

tahitian moon sand! do it bud! and here is my theory, the only reason for calcium carbonate based sand is....... NO, your wrong lol. can't tell me it helps to buffer the water to any notable degree. in a low ph environment, say soft freshwater, then it would break down faster and help....somewhat, but if you have a reef your are dosing or at least doing water changes to maintian alk and calcium. (think calcium reactor and the need for co2 to breakdown the calcium, so how is the substrate breaking down without it??)....so as long as its not a DSB (which is another story and does have a inherant supply of co2 do to the nature of the biology in there)( correct me if i'm wrong)and its just for looks, I say do what is pleases you!

aonther plus that is more significant in freshwater though is darker bottom makes fish color better....or at least darken. fish naturaly have white bellies and darker backs so the arey more difficult to see from above and below. light bellies blends in with sunlight entering the water from top, and darker backs blends in with darker water from below. when we bounce light from our halides and led's and such off the white substrate that creates an unatural environment for the fish to color up. make sence?

there are differences in the way fish are colored in fresh and saltwater also, basically in saltwater color is actual pigment in the skin and in freshwater its more reflective off the scales is the way I understand it ( correct me if i;m wrong please)

 

[Terrance]

I had black sand in my 400 gallon FOWLR, it's cool at the start but I makes every thing look darker and I will never go back to black sand.

+1 it does make tanks look darker, but it makes colorful fish and corals on or next to the sandbed pop.

I won't do black sand in my tank. Never again.

 

[NC2WA]

Earl, so moving to home which should equate to bigger tank for Earl. ����

 

[N1Husker]

Earl, so moving to home which should equate to bigger tank for Earl. ����

Wrong, it doesn't fit into Earl's fish budget. Our budget took a big hit when my wife got sick and just got done with her triple bypass surgery, so that put a dent in my fish budget. Man, sometimes life gets in the way of the fun stuff. But having her still around was worth it. I had my heart set on getting a 100 to 120 gallon tank, but that will have to remain a dream.

 

[1guydude]

I say mix.
White sanc gets dirty. Dark sand is well....dark
Did all black in a 10g. Upgraded to a 20L and did the oreo. Luvd it!
All in all though up to u!
I like the more grainy a stuff myself mixed with lots of sugar grain.
Hths
D

 

[trido]

Right now I have a 90/10 mix of white and black sand and really like it. The tiny bit of black hides any detritous.

 

[kpiotrowski]

I really do appreciate your offer and I do thank you and it is a heck of a deal, unfortunately the bills are rushing in and I need to establish my priorities. I don't want to put anymore stress on my wife than she has already gone through. We have been married for 32 years and I want to make it to 33 and beyond. I love my tank, fish, corals, critters and this hobby. I truly have found a lot of friends in this hobby through this forum. She goes off restrictions tomorrow, however, she still is experiencing much surface discomfort at the incision site. She is getting stronger and she has quit smoking, still has urges, but fights through them. I am very proud of her.

32 years is really special! Congrats on that and congrats to your wife on the stopping smoking. I have quit many times and am still a smoker at 44 y/o.

I get that starting a new build with everything else going on is probably too much right now.

back to the black sand, I ran the tahtian moon sand, hope this link works Aquarium Substrate for Marine Aquariums: CaribSea Instant Aquarium Substrate Tahitian Moon

I ran it in a freshwater specialty tank where I bred sewellia lineolata and ran t-5 HO at 6700k to grow mad algea for food. I never disturbed the substrate do to not wanting to suck up any fry and I didn't notice any algae growth on the actual substrate....not that equates to saltwater, but for what its worth that was my experience.

 

[N1Husker]

Earl,

wow..moving again...

with black sand make sure it is silicate free..i remember a thread on here that said most black sand is silicate based which will cause algae bloom.

Hey Kirk, I wrote to CaribSea and they said that the black does contain silicate but not the amorphous or hydrated silica which is what contribute to the algae bloom problems and that makes a huge difference. They also said that it is volcanic rock and has sharp edges and they don't recommend it for wrasses. They referred me to the Fiji Pink, although not black it is a slightly bigger grain and is wrasse and invert friendly, so it also won't blow around like oolite. I guess bottomline is they have talked me out of it.

 

[NC2WA]

Earl,

You are to be commended in doing your research BEFORE you purchase..this IMO is what a conscientious aquarist is all about...good job..

 

[N1Husker]

Earl,

You are to be commended in doing your research BEFORE you purchase..this IMO is what a conscientious aquarist is all about...good job..

Thank you, I only am trying to do the best for my fish. More knowledge regarding this hobby is always a good thing.

 

[NC2WA]

Yup. it is part of the hobby I still like doing...research, research, research, AND then purchase..

 

[N1Husker]

Yup. it is part of the hobby I still like doing...research, research, research, AND then purchase..

Yup, except with me it's 1, research, research, research, 2. talk my wife into it, 3. then purchase if step 2 was successful.

 

[senji]

with black sand it has positives and negatives the positive is it makes everything glow and pop in the tank. now be careful with selection. most do have silica in it and i only found 2 brands that don't(cant think of brands atm). now something that i didn't see any1 mention is all black sand (since it is volcanic rock) it is magnetic so has the potential of getting in the pumps and power heads and ruining them. also magnet tank scrubbers shouldn't be used with a tank that has black sand in it because it will stick to the scrubber and possibly scratch the tank. so what ever you decide on don't get super fine black sand. i am going to use carib sea super naturals black in my frag build. its 100% volcanic and no silica. the moon is a bad choice. just my experience and 2 cents. for a zoa or trying for the nuclear/glow in the dark tank this is the way to go. u wont be disappointed with the look that's for sure just a little more maintenance and per caution u have to take if your going to use it. best of luck and a good night to u.