dark vs light substrate...what do you prefer?

[that_fish_Guy]

Any1 know if Quickrete all purpose sand is safe for tanks??? Was thinking of using for 240 dovii tank it's deep brown, something I haven't tried before.

 

[fishnatics]

I used black sand before and it was hard for me to see my fish so I switched to play sand. Was much better but now I'm using white sand with blue back ground and I like it so much better. My geo's color seem okay to me. Tiger barbs color stands out. The only fish that's seems to be washed out are my blochii's. 2 of the bigger skunk loaches went charcoal black with orange hughes on fins.

 

[JoeBoxer]

Hmmmm. Lots of mixed opinions.

I find even with a black background and black rocks the white sand may be washing the color out a bit.

Only issue I have with "natural" gravel is that I don't like a lot of the ones sold at the stores here. I also find sand easier to clean.

It'll be a guppy tank with some bottom dwellers for my son. I think black sand may help the colours to pop a bit.

I'll try and also look at natural gravel but they're so ugly here...

 

[Texas321]

II switched from white to black and I'll never use anything different again. Flack substrate makes everything look better IMO.

 

[Owens]

Depends on fish, I prefer black, but being a poly keeper, a reddish mix is the go-to.

 

[demler]

I use the quickrete all purpose. It's by far my favorite. I think it's the most natural look. I like the varied size of it from normal size sand to tiny pebbles. Black just doesn't look natural to me. I've tried it. Just don't like the look. And it doesn't get much cheaper than all purpose sand.

 

[celebrist]

I use black sand with granite rocks and pebbles for contrast, I like it better than the lighter gravel I have used in the past

 

[Freshwater4Life]

I previously had pfs light colored sand. Besides washing my fishes colors out some you could see every little particle or discoloration on the sand Switched to black Tahitian moon sand and haven't looked back.

 

[JoeBoxer]

I use black sand with granite rocks and pebbles for contrast, I like it better than the lighter gravel I have used in the past

I previously had pfs light colored sand. Besides washing my fishes colors out some you could see every little particle or discoloration on the sand Switched to black Tahitian moon sand and haven't looked back.

I think this is how I'm feeling right now. Going to give the black a try and see how I like it!

Only a small tank, so it will be cheap and easy to switch if I wanted to.

Thanks!