Black Sand?

[Jgoal55]

trying to decide if I will finally go with Black Sand in my tank. Other than aesthetics, is there anything else I should consider? Also, would those of you that use post some pics? I'd love to see what it looks like in different tanks.

Thanks.
Jorge

[serkel]

well i had black sand and it looked great. The problem is that it's got so many minerals in the sand that it stuck to the magnet every time i clean the glass and for fear of scratching the glass i pulled it all out and just got regular white...

[ortiz76]

Hey how is the tank going? Were you able to get it leveled? I have seen black sand in a DT in a LFS and it looks great.

[bllfish]

I have heard that the black sand is hard to keep clean looking?? Every little bit of STUFF stands out.

[illal]

i had black sand in my old 55g a few years back and tho it looked really good when clean it was nearly impossible to keep that way and for that reason when i set up my 125g i went wit the regular stuff

[blackthunda77]

first off, like everyone said, its alot harder to keep clean. well actually its not, its just that the detritus stands out more on the black than on the white. not like it crates more detritus than white it does also absorb more light than the white which reflects more so the undersides of the coral will get less light actually.

ive seen it done right and when it is it looks great. i personally like it better if there is less rocwork covering up the sand, the more the black sand is visible the better cuz if most of it is covered up by rocks it just looks like dirty sand in my opinion. if its gonna be black sand make it obvious that that was your intent. hth

[Jgoal55]

Thanks guys.....this definitely helps....the whole its tough to keep "clean" thing kind of makes me rethink the black sand thing. But like blackthunda said, when done right it looks amazing. I am basically thinking back to one black sand tank I saw that is keeping it in my head and making me want to do it.

I siphon my sand pretty well about once per month. Dont know if that'll keep it clean but i'd like to think so. I am more concerned with how black itll stay over time. I am thinking that eventually it will start losing color which i dont think will look too good. not sure if im just making that up in my head though.

I also wonder how the black sand would handle the bit of red algae I always get in between the sand and the glass. I wonder if it would look better or worse.

And this might be a dumb question, but although I know exactly what detritus is, I've never paid attention to its color. What is it? I guess white, since it would stand out more on black sand???

Jose, the tank is doing. I did get it perfectly level after but I am yet to run the plumbing. Aside from how busy I have been working on this upcoming meeting I have, I realized I had never plumbed a drilled tank before so I didn't want to risk my apartment to a learning experience. I have a friend coming over this week to help me out with that part. Hopefullly, Ill have water in it by the end of the weekend. But I have said that before...lol. The tank is perfect for the apt though. Ill take pictures as I set it all up and post.

[Ludwigia73]

I had black sand in my 18g viaaqua, and it looked GREAT!!! I stirred the top 1/4" of sand or so every so often, and the detritus was pretty much handled by my aquaclear filter (love those filters). I didn't skim that tank at all, and it was pretty heavily stocked with softies, and a couple lps. One thing no one has mentioned: LIGHT!!! White sand reflects light, black absorbs it, and the black also causes your eyes to misinterpret the brightness of the light as well. I anticipated this, and on an 18 gallon tank, I put 2x96w quad pc's, and it did great. It may have been okay with smaller lights, but I didn't try.
2nd, as for the mess, it was mainly a white powdery detritus, that would stir into the water to be handled in part by the aquaclear, in part with water changes. Personally, I loved the black sand and would definitely do it again. I'm considering doing it on my 150 when I set it up, but black sand is expensive.

Lastly, I did NOT notice any issues with sand sticking to the magnet. I bought the stuff from All Sealife, on Pembroke Rd, but you can buy it anywhere. Just make sure the bag says it's for aquariums.

One more pro for you, I personally think the black sand made the corals look better, seemed to give them more color... and the coralline algae on the rocks just looked more purple. I'm sure it was just mental and contrast and all that, but who cares, it really did look better.

[Ludwigia73]

And PS, log onto Photobucket, and type in my screenname, Ludwigia73. In my pictures, somewhere on page 3, or 4, I think it was, is that 18g, you can see my black sand. Loved that tank, Only tank I ever really hated to tear down. I'm still going to build another one just like it some day

[Jgoal55]

thanks for the info Ludwigia. How long did you have the black sand for? Did it fade?
I tried looking up your photos on photobucket but no luck. Can you post a link?

[Jgoal55]

sorry...nevermind...just found it...looks nice! thanks.

[ashrem]

Bought a bag from Big Als of Caribsea black sand and lotsa something ferrous or magnetic in it.

[Ludwigia73]

Never faded... but like I said I stirred it occasionally, never the whole thing, like a third once a month... That tank was set up for around 2 1/2 years. Actually, Nanokat took some pics of it at the FMAS show a few years back, and one of those gorgeous pictures now hang on my wall as a reminder, and another of those pictures is on the FMAS recruiting placard. Not bragging, it's an honor that my tank came out well enough to make it there. It's also a testament to her great photography skills.

[Jgoal55]

very cool....i think ive decided to do it.....you know what they say, "once you go black....."

I figure if I dont like it I can change it eventually since I'll probably move from where I am in 2-3 yrs.

Ill take some pics as soon as I get it all in the tank.

[Ludwigia73]

Good for you... I've decided as well to go with black sand. I'll keep my current sandbed in the sump, just for additional filtration.