Black sand for reef tank

[madmax7774]

I was wondering if anyone had any experience using the tahitian moon black sand. I have always wanted to have a black sand bottom on a reef tank, and was sondering if using that instead of live sand would hurt my reef system. I was thinking of 75 lbs. of live rock on a black sand base about 2" thick. anyone have any thoughts on this?

John

[DEEPBLUE]

You should have at least 4 inches of sand. Sorry but I haven't used or heard anything about black sand.

 

Eric

[Guest clownfish4]

2" is fine. I don't have any experience with it, but if you put live rock on it the worms and stars and what not should still inhabit it, it will just take awhile to culture. I would not add any live organisms to the tank for at least a month, but 2 or 3 would be much better.

[Charlie97L]

you'll find loads of differing opinions on the depth of sand... there's really no wrong answer.

 

i've seen tanks with the black sand, and the only thing to be aware of is that is doesn't stay uniform black for long. it will start getting speckled with white and tan pretty quickly from detrius and algae, just like the whiter sand will darken and become different colors, looking more natural. looks good though, i would think it's easier to maintain the kind of color you want with it in a nano tank, i've seen that a lot more. but don't let that stop you, just my opinion.

 

i'm not sure about culturing time, but i would go with the above recommendation and let the LR and the sand sit for about 3 weeks before putting anything in. there is lots of info on nano-reef.com on the black sand, as it's a popular nano option. this was the best thread i found on it. it's not going to have any of the natural benefits of aragonite, because the black sand is silica based. there are also some good points about flow in this thread.

 

http://www.nano-reef.com/forums/index.php?...topic=73046&hl=

[dzekunoi]

I was wondering if anyone had any experience using the tahitian moon black sand.  I have always wanted to have a black sand bottom on a reef tank, and was sondering if using that instead of live sand would hurt my reef system.  I was thinking of 75 lbs. of live rock on a black sand base about 2" thick.  anyone have any thoughts on this?

John

55223[/snapback]

 

I did my research on tahitian moon sand and decided against it. It looks stunning IMO. However it's not aragonite but calcite. So it will not dissolve slowly as aragonite will do.

But it definitely will not hurt your tank. It will go live as well when seeded with bacteria and other organisms.