Black sand (or dark coloured) in tank?

[MbmC]

Hi there,

Is anyone using black or dark coloured sand in their tanks? Have been repeatedly searching, but I can't find anything specific on this forum. Have read that the colours are brighter and maximised with the contrast.

Is there too much silicate in the sand that can cause problems with keeping corals?

Cheers

[Copperband]

I am not sure if you can use them... Mostly avilable from here is dyed... so unsuitable... i know caribsea has a particular brand thats black sand... ? perhaps check out reef depot ?

mostly people here use fine white sand to reflect back the light to the undersides of their corals.......

[MbmC]

I am not sure if you can use them... Mostly avilable from here is dyed... so unsuitable... i know caribsea has a particular brand thats black sand... ? perhaps check out reef depot ?

mostly people here use fine white sand to reflect back the light to the undersides of their corals.......

Have seen a picture of a tank with black sand with fine white speckles. Darn chio, so thought of trying that out...

[kelstorm]

there are natural black sand.. those are mostly volcanic sand... seen them when i went diving in Lembeh, Manado.

[arcanehacker]

hah.. whats better is you do not need to worry about algae growth on sand.. hehe..

[MbmC]

So anywhere in singapore are they available for reef tanks? If that's volcanic sand, is there going to be a problem with the constituents?

there are natural black sand.. those are mostly volcanic sand... seen them when i went diving in Lembeh, Manado.

[fishlife]

remember seeing caribsea black sand in aquamarin last week...... a pack costs nearly 2 blue notes :o

[tayhonglee]

im using black substrate in my tank. i think it has almost been a few months already. my experience so far is that its quite easy to maintain. i have a sand sifter and the little guy helps to keep the sand clean.

the tank definitely darker than when i used white sand. my wife commented that it looks unnatural (which is true), but provides excellent contrast for corals (which is also true).

all in all, im quite happy with my black substrate.

[kelstorm]

im using black substrate in my tank. i think it has almost been a few months already. my experience so far is that its quite easy to maintain. i have a sand sifter and the little guy helps to keep the sand clean.

the tank definitely darker than when i used white sand. my wife commented that it looks unnatural (which is true), but provides excellent contrast for corals (which is also true).

all in all, im quite happy with my black substrate.

where u got them from?

[MbmC]

Yeah, where did you get the black stuff from? That's exactly what I want. Have you got a picture of your full tank?

Cheers

im using black substrate in my tank. i think it has almost been a few months already. my experience so far is that its quite easy to maintain. i have a sand sifter and the little guy helps to keep the sand clean.

the tank definitely darker than when i used white sand. my wife commented that it looks unnatural (which is true), but provides excellent contrast for corals (which is also true).

all in all, im quite happy with my black substrate.

[kelstorm]

Yeah, where did you get the black stuff from? That's exactly what I want. Have you got a picture of your full tank?

Cheers

check out AM's site.. they are selling it..

[tayhonglee]

i got the sand from petmart. its those gilttery type. quite cheap.

let me dig out a full tank shot later

[MbmC]

check out AM's site.. they are selling it..

Went down to AM, bought two packs of the black stuff. Not as black as I expected, but definitely much darker

Only thing is they had a nano setup there with the same black substrate. Brown algae is clearly visible on the black stuff.