Black Sand - Should I?

[Quantum Aquaria]

So i'm in the process of setting up a 30 gallon cube that I got from Curtis yesterday and wanted to try black sand. Obviously, the black sand would look awesome and make the colors stand out more of both fish and corals. I've done some brief research but still not sure on which brand is the best and if black sand in general is good or bad for a reef tank.

 

1) What is the best brand out there? I've heard and read most people use the Estes brand

2) Does black sand really soak up the lighting in your tank

3) I've read that they contain magnetic compounds and if that gets in your magfloat, it's very difficult to clean and you can scratch the glass

3) get's dirtier then normal sand and loses color over time

 

so before I pull the plug, just wanted to see what other members are doing and if there were any recommendations

[BowieReefer84]

Why not go bare bottom and paint the underside of the tank black? That would accomplish your look without the sand . . . If you have enough live rock you should be good. imo.

[trockafella]

...

Edited July 12, 2010 by trockafella

[BowieReefer84]

.

 

 

Edited July 12, 2010 by BowieReefer84

[trockafella]

Interesting about the magnetic compounds, I use the black/white sand and the black definitely sticks to frag mags if you drop them.. The black part of the sand has lost its color and its 2 years old.

[Quantum Aquaria]

Why not go bare bottom and paint the underside of the tank black? That would accomplish your look without the sand . . . If you have enough live rock you should be good. imo.

 

would need sand for my goby and other critters, not to mention I've never really liked the bare tank look. Having sand make's it much more natural

[dtfleming]

Premium Aquatics sells a Hawaiian sand that is all black. There is also the Tahati moon sand.

[Chad]

^also, painting the bottom of your tank black can really only be seen from above because of the reflection of glass.

[BowieReefer84]

^also, painting the bottom of your tank black can really only be seen from above because of the reflection of glass.

 

I did not know that. What about a piece of black acrylic cut to size and superglued to the bottom? I realize he does not want to take this route, but would it work?

[Coral Hind]

I did not know that. What about a piece of black acrylic cut to size and superglued to the bottom? I realize he does not want to take this route, but would it work?

 

It would become covered in coralline algae and turn pink in about year.

[BowieReefer84]

It would become covered in coralline algae and turn pink in about year.

 

I like that. Maybe throw some star polyps or encrusting monti down on it as well . . .haha

[Chad]

I didnt know it either until I tried it one time a while back... I was like DOH!!!

 

If the plexi is on the inside you would be able to see it (at least until it becomes covered with coraline like Dave says

 

I like the encrusting monti and gsp look, it is fun to have all that stuff completely covering the bottom... the big display tank up at exotic aquatics is like that.

[BowieReefer84]

 

I like the encrusting monti and gsp look, it is fun to have all that stuff completely covering the bottom... the big display tank up at exotic aquatics is like that.

 

If you are referring to the HUGE tank in the very front of Exotic Aquatics near Towson . . .WRONG . . .I was there this past weekend, and it is now freshwater. . . .yea, it's ugly too.

[Coral Hind]

If I were to use the black sand I think I would take a large magnet and run in around in the sand mix to remove all the magnetite before placing it into the tank. I would place the magnet in a plastic bag to make cleaning it off easier. Removing the magnetite would help to prevent it from sticking to the mag cleaner and scratching the glass.

[jason the filter freak]

dont go bare bottom, i used before and will use again a mixture of grey coast calcite from seachem (due to it being calcium based and i dont do extra calcium supplementation) and carib sea naturals black sand (in a 3:1 ratio). there is definately particles that will be attracted to your mags (solution, keep your magnet off the sand) there are also some greenish colored particles that are noticeable when your nose is against the glass. i belive the reason for both the mangetically active particles and the greenish color grains (low concentation probably 1 grain to every 200-300 grains of sand) is that the black sand is typically going to be volcanic based and volcanic matter tends to be high in things like iron ore coming up from the earths core, additionally the greenish colored grains can probably be attributed to silica being heated to melting point due to heat resulting in glass being formed high in iron resulting in the greenish apperance (this is speculation but i think im right based on chemistry and geological classes i think i paid attention in)

[jason the filter freak]

if you have anyother questions youd like to ask me as i typed that out on my phone and im not sure how readable it is.

[Chad]

If you are referring to the HUGE tank in the very front of Exotic Aquatics near Towson . . .WRONG . . .I was there this past weekend, and it is now freshwater. . . .yea, it's ugly too.

 

 

umm... wow!!!

 

I guess it has been a while since I have been in there, but wow... That was a really nice looking sps reef the last I saw it.

[Biscuit]

Yeah I realized my black sand is magnetized the hard way... I at least noticed before i ran it across my glass, but its pretty much impossible to get all the sand and grit out of the pad. I removed most of it to be able to use it but it doesn't work as well anymore.

[Quantum Aquaria]

Thanks everyone for the advise and input. Based on this, guess black sand is not a good option. Might look for either white or pinkish sand instead, of course, unless they pose the same issues.

[Coral Hind]

I think the white sand would help reflect light back up which would help the undersides of the corals. Just a thought.

[treesprite]

I should have noticed this post earlier. Someone mentioned Tahitian moon - I tried that and it was gray after being in the tank - looked awful.

 

White sand will gives more bang for your lighting buck.

[Biscuit]

Do you guys think there would be a problem if i put a layer of white sand on top of the black that I have now? I realize it defeats the purpose of having the black sand in the first place but maybe I could spread the white over it in patches or something for a different look. I would rather not empty out the black sand in there just to replace it all. Not sure if there is some sort of problem that would come up from this so I just want to make sure.

[treesprite]

eventually it will all get mixed in and you'll have a salt n pepper look. There is also sand bed depth to consider - if you already have a couple inches, adding another inch might contribute to a future nitrate problem.

[Amuze]

You could just siphon some sand out each time you do a water change until enough is out to add white sand in. Monitor your water parameters closely after adding the sand and make sure you have enough flow to keep everything from being covered while it settles as your water clears.

[Quantum Aquaria]

so I ran into this on ebay. pretty cool if it doesn't cloud your tank when you add it. Anyone have any experience with this vendor or sand?

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=250584976454