Black or white sand to go with stand and background

[Wharf]

I want to put water in this thing (180gallon, 4inches of back is used for filter so the footprint is 72x18.5ish) but not until I get some suggestions on a substrate. Cost isn't as important as aesthetics. My stand is pine and it stated by another member that white sand would look washed-out with the dark blue background/stand. I'm just gonna probably put larger river rock in it which is actually sort of dark I was thinking of maybe some sort of light rock, but hell all rock work is dark with algae after a while anyway. Driftwood is actually contingent on if I go American cichlids or not.

Narrowed it down to

SA cichlid tank GT, Severarm, Chocolate, SD's & Pictus
or
Moba vs Mpimbwe front colony (idk start with 15 and grow out remove the meanies)
or
WC...or F1 Bulu Point Petrochromis colony (Have a local acquaintance that has both Moshi and Bulu WC breeding colony and many fry )

however, it should be noted that I am fairly burnt on African tanks with the exception of Fronts.

and SW is out of the question...I have had many reefs and I compare it to having a diaper...you have to change it all the time and it can be a big PITA. Especially when you go out of town and come back to 1000's of dollars of bleached SPS coral from a crashed tank...wooops..no thanks.

 

[Steve_C]

Honestly it's really hard to tell someone else what color sand to use because to me at least, sand color is more or less a personal preference type thing. I've used white before, mostly in my African tanks with mbuna, haps & peacocks. I liked white because it gives a nice bright look. I've also used black before and liked that as well. While black does darken the colors of some fish like when I had it in my frontosa tank, it does bring out other colors like yellows and reds really well.

With that said, have you thought about tan? Over the past year now I have switched all of my tanks to 20grit PFS which is a nice natural tank and really love the look of it. Gives a very natural look and compliments the colors of just about any fish.

Nice looking tank BTW

 

[Wharf]

Honestly it's really hard to tell someone else what color sand to use because to me at least, sand color is more or less a personal preference type thing. I've used white before, mostly in my African tanks with mbuna, haps & peacocks. I liked white because it gives a nice bright look. I've also used black before and liked that as well. While black does darken the colors of some fish like when I had it in my frontosa tank, it does bring out other colors like yellows and reds really well.

With that said, have you thought about tan? Over the past year now I have switched all of my tanks to 20grit PFS which is a nice natural tank and really love the look of it. Gives a very natural look and compliments the colors of just about any fish.

Nice looking tank BTW

Yeah Im just kind of torn. In my Tropheus tanks i have always gone blue b/white s ( or aragonite); meanwhile in my other African tanks tang/mbuna/haps have always been black b/ light sand. Now when I have done planted tanks usually used that black eco-complete with black b, but the plant coloration and lighting really help. I guess with the lighter color stand I am at a loss and just wanted some opinions. I might go to one of these landscaping rock places and look at what rockwork I'm putting in first. I like the idea of the tan sand too.

PS wow amazing trout!

 

[Steve_C]

If you decide to go tan I got mine at Leslie pool supply. I think they are a nation wide chain so you'd probably have one near where you live most likely. It was $10 for 50lb bag. Really clean stuff too I only spent about 15 mins washing all 50lbs and it was clear as can be the following morning after filling the tank. I can snap a pic of it in the tank if you want so you can see it.


EDIT-
Here's a pic of the Leslie PFS. It's got a slight amount of white and black tiny pieces in it which I like as well.

 

[skjl47]

Hello; If you like fish with darker more bold coloration then use the darker substrate. If you like fish with more pale and less bold coloration then use a light color substrate.

The old theory I know is based on predation. It goes like this. When a predator looks down into the water from above it is harder to see a fish that blends with the substrate. So fish tend to be darker when seen from above when over a dark substrate and lighter when over a light substrate.

The same theory also is applied to seeing fish from underneath. A predator lower in the water looks up at prey fish so the prey are often very light (silvery) to match the sky.

There can be an exception to this during breeding season. Some of the small creek fish in my area tend to be hard to spot most of the year but can be very colorful during breeding season. I also think the dominant fish in a group of the same species will usually be the more colorful.

I have found that the darker the substrate then the more colorful are the fish.

 

[punman]

I tried all white in a small tank. Did not like it - too much debris showing on the surface.
Tried all black - too dark.
I have two tanks with tan sand and one with "salt and pepper" (black/white) now.

 

[elting44]

If you decide to go tan I got mine at Leslie pool supply. I think they are a nation wide chain so you'd probably have one near where you live most likely. It was $10 for 50lb bag. Really clean stuff too I only spent about 15 mins washing all 50lbs and it was clear as can be the following morning after filling the tank. I can snap a pic of it in the tank if you want so you can see it.


EDIT-
Here's a pic of the Leslie PFS. It's got a slight amount of white and black tiny pieces in it which I like as well.

+1 for PFS

I use it in my tanks with some pea sized gravel mixed in, looks natural

 

[Wharf]

Well to update you guys, I am going with the theme of not doing it before. So....I went with black sand I have always gone PFS (which I am a big fan of) or aragonite (depending on the tank). I have always used river rock, or fiji live rock (in reefs)....so I used this really light color granite. Hopefully it will offset some of the dark substrate. I didn't go crazy with the sand either only 120lbs for the 72 x 18.5 footprints so maybe 1.5 inches at most. I have always gone with glass...this tank is acrylic. I have always gone with black stands...this one is pine. I just thought I would stay with the theme, follow suit,
and take a risk What I will say...I don't know if I want to rinse black sand ever again lol...my god....

Here's a pic the python is in action as we speak

 

[punman]

Sand/gravel is one of the cheapest aspects of fish keeping. If you do not like it, just throw it out and try a different colour. Bit of a pain to do that but not a bunch of money.

 

[Cyanopica]

Looks good so far! I've always preferred dark substrate, but as was already mentioned, personal aesthetics vary. If you decide it's too dark once it's all set up, you could always throw in some white or tan sand and mix it in.