Black sand vs white sand

[porpoiseaquatics]

Ok....I'm curious. As some of you know...I'm going to be putting together a new tank...well not new, a transfer but anyway. I may not transfer all of my substrate that is white sand. I've seen some tanks that were black sand and I have to tell you .... they were awesome looking. I have an opportunity to purchase 90 lbs of black sand and I'm wondering what the pros and cons would be of black vs white? Any comments are appreciated.

 

[mapleredta]

Black would show more 'crap'
Heard black sucks up par
Un-natural looking
Heard issues with PH (true or not, unsure)

 

[rolo65]

I love black sand personally.....it makes any corals on the substrate really pop out....only cons to it IMO is that it tend to look dirty more often....I had it in my 40g....had to vac the top very often to keep the clean look....I actually have pacific black sand now which is mostly White actual sand with black in it.....I like it too.....I was going to get Fiji pink and lack and mix them together to give a nice asthetic look.....but never found the Fiji pink like I wanted.....guess I should have gotten sand from Bermuda....but that's really my only con to black sand......and I'm not sure but I think some gobies may have a harder time sifting it thru thier gills since it's silica instead of actual calcium based sand....sharper grains have the ability to cut gills....

 

[rolo65]

Not to argue.....but black sand is very natural looking.....black sand beaches thruoufht the world.....just less common IMO

 

[jp30338]

I love my black tahitian moon sand! Yes, it can look dirty so need to clean it more, since the crap stands out more. In siome cases the granules can be magnetic, so gotta be careful when using a mag float.

Do they have any more for sale? I could use more actually.

 

[sharkbait]

After having white sand in every previous tank, when I got my new 92 corner tank I decided to try the black. I will never go back to white (like they say 'once u go black.....u never go back'). The look is amazing. All my coral is doing fine and growing quite well. My tiger goby has no problem with the sand. IMO the black looks ten times cleaner then my white sand ever did. I have no issues with my ph (a constant 8.3 everyday). IMO it's something different and I can't be more pleased. I'll send video to your phone if you want.

 

[mapleredta]

Sweet. What brand are yall using?

 

[jp30338]

I use Black Tahitian Moon Sand-Keen Reef usually has it in stock

 

[dakota9]

"If you want it done right, you gotta go white"</em>

Black sand doesn't work well with dark colored fish, so it definately depends on the fish you plan to keep. Also I'd suggest seeing several different tanks......

 

[mockery]

I have the Carib sea hawiian black sand in my tank since I started. I feel like I've been getting better pH buffering with it then when I had fiji pink in my old tank.

Dakota9;498347 wrote: "If you want it done right, you gotta go white"</em>

Black sand doesn't work well with dark colored fish, so it definately depends on the fish you plan to keep. Also I'd suggest seeing several different tanks......

What do you mean by that?

andregarcia_73;498349 wrote: Black sand looks nicer initially but gets dirty and from what I read doesn't buffer the water like regularr sand. I have black sand in a 24gal nano and can't wait to replace it. Plus it doesn't look as nice after you had it in there a while. At least that's the case IMHO. Now I had a friend who has a 180 gal with black sand and it looks great. I guess it depends on the amount of sand cleaning you do. I will stick with regular white sand as it is more forgiving! Lol

I have never cleaned the sand in my tank and I have no problem with it looking dirty.

Now the only downside to it is that it has some very large pieces to in that made it hard for my dragon goby to filter. I've also noticed that the larger pieces so coraline algae growth.

The best thing I love about the black sand is that everything pops! Since the sides and back are painted everything shines.

 

[acroholic]

Tahitian Moon (Caribsea product) sand is fine as a substrate, but it is inert and does not buffer the water at all. Fine grain consistency, but silica based.

Seachem makes a dark substrate, http://www.seachem.com/Products/product_pages/GrayCoast.html"><span style="color: #22229c">Seachem Gray Coast</span></a> , but I don't know anything about it. Caribsea also makes Hawaiian Black, which is a black aragonite substrate with bits of white in it. It buffers the water like any regular aragonite substrate. I use this in my chalice and 60 gallon reefs. I like it. Mutiple grain sizes. Sometimes the occaisional rock to pull out.

There is also another black aragonite substrate called Nature's Ocean Aragonite Black Beach Sand is nice looking and will buffer a reef system, but is magnetic as well. Very fine grade of sand. This stuff sticking to pump magnets and glass cleaning magnets would not be fun. Learned that after buying a couple bags: [IMG]http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=16765"><span style="color: #22229c">http://www.drsfostersmith.com/produc...m?pcatid=16765</span></a>.
Dave

 

[porpoiseaquatics]

jp30338;498338 wrote: I love my black tahitian moon sand! Yes, it can look dirty so need to clean it more, since the crap stands out more. In siome cases the granules can be magnetic, so gotta be careful when using a mag float.

Do they have any more for sale? I could use more actually.

Not sure if they have any more. I'll check and let you know.

 

[porpoiseaquatics]

Thanks guys! I appreciate all the input. Here's some info about the sand I'm looking at:

<span style="font-family: Verdana"><span style="font-size: 12px"><span style="color: #000000">* Natural Colors! - No added dyes or chemicals! </span></span></span>

<span style="font-family: Verdana"><span style="font-size: 12px"><span style="color: #008000">* Stimulates natural digging and burrowing behavior </span></span></span>

<span style="font-family: Verdana"><span style="font-size: 12px"><span style="color: #000000">* All-natural aragonite substrates ideal for saltwater aquariums </span></span></span>

<span style="font-family: Verdana"><span style="font-size: 12px"><span style="color: #008000">* Helps stabilize calcium & alkalinity levels and prevents large pH declines </span></span></span>

<span style="font-family: Verdana"><span style="font-size: 12px"><span style="color: #000000">* Porous structure and size ideal for beneficial bacteria growth </span></span></span>
<span style="font-size: 12px"><span style="font-family: Verdana"><span style="font-size: 12px"><span style="color: #ffffff"> </span></span></span></span>
<span style="font-size: 12px"><span style="font-family: Verdana"><span style="font-size: 12px">BLACK, </span></span><span style="font-family: Verdana"><span style="font-size: 12px">0.70 - 2.00 mm, </span></span><span style="font-family: Verdana"><span style="font-size: 12px">Sand Granules, </span></span><span style="font-family: Verdana"><span style="font-size: 12px">Round, Natural</span></span></span>
<span style="font-size: 12px">Ok for Freshwater? <span style="font-family: Verdana"><span style="font-size: 12px">Yes</span></span>
Ok for Saltwater? <span style="font-family: Verdana"><span style="font-size: 12px">Yes</span></span>
Specific Gravity: <span style="font-family: Verdana"><span style="font-size: 12px">14.34 (H2O=1)</span></span></span>

 

[acroholic]

If it is aragonite, then I question the "OK for freshwater" claim, but other than that, sounds good. OK for African Cichlids, but not soft water species.

 

[porpoiseaquatics]

Acroholic;498362 wrote: If it is aragonite, then I question the "OK for freshwater" claim, but other than that, sounds good. OK for African Cichlids, but not soft water species.

I thought the same thing so I'm asking the question of the company that sells it.

If anybody wants...check out the company web page at

 

[chriswkbrd]

Did you ever order this sand? I was thinking about ordering some myself and wanted to hear what you thought of the sand.

 

[mph84]

i had the same problem with my black sand as jp30338. i found out it was magnetic when it scratched my glass while cleaning so be careful and look at your scrubber often. other than that it did look pretty cool.

 

[porpoiseaquatics]

chriswkbrd;501383 wrote: Did you ever order this sand? I was thinking about ordering some myself and wanted to hear what you thought of the sand.

I didn't yet. Right after I posted this, I got about 50 lbs of argonite for free and another 50 lbs of live sand to mix it with. I'm still looking to purchase though for a 75 fish only tank.

 

[sa1sachica]

hi! we are also interested in black sand for our 90gallon reef upgrade. we've tried the super natural tahitian moon sand and experienced the magnetic/scratching issue with our nano when using a magfloat - and also cyano outbreak. wondering if it's the sand or need more water changes...

Now we're looking at caribsea indo pacific or the ocean direct black reef sand. I know it's a mxture of both black and white - and both brands look the same- i hope to get luck with a bag that is mostly black sand. The next closest thing we saw was the hawaiian black sand and the grains look too big (tiny lava rocks) for a goby to sift...

any other thoughts on fine grain sand that works well with reef tanks and non-magnetic issue?

 

[rbredding]

I've got black sand in the 30gal in the Kitchen... I like it for the most part. White sand would be better in my opinion if you could keep it white... (but I can't)

I rather enjoy having white sand in one and black sand in another.. (the 90 has Seachem Meridian)