Fine Black Gravel (bottom dweller safe)

  • We are currently upgrading MFK. thanks! -neo
I've also heard that Black Beauty isn't a good substrate choice. Never used it (and probably won't) so I can't comment there.

I'm not actually sure if Tahitian moon is magnetic. I'll have to try that tonight. I did have some get sucked into my Penguin 350 filters and grind the impellers to a halt when I first put it in. It just happened because I dumped a ton of it in at once though instead of adding a bit at a time and letting it settle. It settles pretty fast once it's in, and rarely gets stirred up by the fish. Haven't had any pump issues since then.

When initially rinsing it I mix it with my bare hands with no issues. I don't think it's really sharp. It has about the same consistency of the Pool Filter Sand I was using previously. I'd think if Cory Cats can dig around in it with no issues it should be good for a BN Pleco too. I tried Tahitian Moon because like you I wanted something darker. I haven't regretted it since. :)
 
tahitian moon won't be too sharp, but it's damn expensive and not worth the risk if you're using HOB filters. Even t-grade colorquartz is fine and it feels pretty coarse/sharp. but, since you said plants, I'd have to agree w/ Flourite Black Sand
 
Im looking at java moss / ferns that take food from the water column initially, i should have clarified that sorry!
The flourite prices are just too steep in the uk at least, the tahitian moon sand is actually one of the cheaper options so far!

I'll hold out for darkjester to see if it's magnetic, if not ill bite the bullet on that, if it is i guess im forking out on the flourite black or onyx.

Colorquartz is apparantly discontinued, cant find it anywhere! Shame since it fits the bill perfectly, inert, black, fine.

I email'ed another pool flooring company regarding a similar matereal, but since it is in the us i dont have high hopes for them shipping 100 ish lb's, unless you can point me to someone who can suppy colorquartz maybe?
 
If it really is glass or silica based, it shouldn't be magnetic, but not sure what they add to it to make it black so it may be. As mentioned it's only really an issue if it gets sucked into the filter, but you have the same problem with just about any sand until the particle size starts getting large enough to be considered gravel.

Tahitian moon does settle back down pretty fast when it does get kicked up. I haven't had any get sucked into the filter since that first time when I dumped about 30# in at once and clouded the entire water column up for about half a minute. Since then I actually take a small cup and scoop it out of the rinsing bucket a cup at a time, put the cup in the tank and turn it over near the bottom. Problem solved.

I grow Anacharis in it and it roots with no problems. I see a few inches of new growth per week.

The one drawback I'll mention is that it takes a while to rinse the sand initially. I put around 20# in a 5 gallon bucket at a time, and it takes 5+ fill/stir/pour cycles to get the water running clear. That's a common thing with most sands as well though, and it's just 1 time.

Tahitian Moon is cheaper than Fluorite in the states as well. Still more than play sand or pool filter sand, but about 2/3 the price of Fluorite.

Not sure on the fluorite safety for inverts. Copper in just about any concentration is bad for them, but how much of the small amount of copper in the substrate actually is released into the water column? Might check on Planet Inverts for that. If it's good for shrimp, it should be fine for most anything else.
 
Nice, thanks for the reply! I have done yet more reading, it has made more sense of things with regards to the sand. Apparantly the 'instant aquarium' version isnt soft belly safe on their site, however the 'super naturals' is, there must be a major difference in the manufacture of the two other than added life-forms. Im going to assume that the magnetic properties is a myth, which is in fact related to the cheaper black beauty sand, ill do some more reading to see if this is indeed true. I take it the stuff you have was bagged 'super naturals'?
 
Yep, I can confirm the stuff I get is the Super Naturals. Comes in 5# and 20# bags. I wasn't even aware there was another kind of Tahitian Moon.
 
as far as ColorQuartz goes, some places still have some in stock, but you can't look up dealers any more on the website, so IDK what to do to help you in the UK. Fortunately for me, I know the local distributor and just bought some about a month ago as they still have what I use left (black t-grade). And yeah since your plants don't gain nutrients from the substrate Flourite is kind of a waste of money.
 
Im definately going for the tahitian moon sand now, sent some requests to suppliers for final quotes on 120lb shipped, looking iro £90 - £100.

Here is the link confirming the types are different grades, he suggests one for axolotl, which needs very soft substrate. If you check that site he has given sound advice elsewhere on substrate.

http://www.caudata.org/forum/f46-be...rate/68000-good-brand-tahitian-moon-sand.html

And here are the caribsea links for the two different types;

http://www.caribsea.com/pages/products/super_nat.html
http://www.caribsea.com/pages/products/instant_aquarium.html

Hard to spot, but one is clearly listed as not safe for bottom dwellers, where the other is listed as ok.

Looks like a typo at first glance, but there you go! Explains alot.
 
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