Help with changing substrate

[Polyaddict86]

Hi guys need some advice to change my white sand to a black fine sand. I have 4 questions.1st How many times do i need to wash the black sand before i add itto the tank?, 2nd will it harm my polys if the sand been changed?, 3rd do i need to add any chemical or solution to the sand just incase it has parasites?, 4th what to expect on my poly after the substrate changed? Thanks for the reply.

 

[Dr.B]

1) usually what I do is get a 5g bucket and fill it up 1/2 to 3/4 full of sand and then keep a hose in it until the other 1/2 or 1/4 of the bucket is clear with no excess particles. Repeat this process until you have enough sand for your tank.

2) No your polys won't be harmed. They might be a little stressed out, but after a couple days they won't remember a thing.

3) The sand (unless you are getting it already wetted down and used) most likely will not have parasites, and even if it does they will most likely not be anything that can translate to your bichirs. One thing I would watch for is the kind of sand you use and if it has any harmful chemicals/ingredients.

4) Almost all polys get darker when on black sand. Upper jaws tend to get dark and exhibit green pigments. The amount of green pigmentation varies from polys to poly. On Lower jaws they usually get really dark and faded. There are some laps that excel on black sand, but most times all lower jaws look faded and leave more to be desired on black.

 

[Polyaddict86]

1) usually what I do is get a 5g bucket and fill it up 1/2 to 3/4 full of sand and then keep a hose in it until the other 1/2 or 1/4 of the bucket is clear with no excess particles. Repeat this process until you have enough sand for your tank.

2) No your polys won't be harmed. They might be a little stressed out, but after a couple days they won't remember a thing.

3) The sand (unless you are getting it already wetted down and used) most likely will not have parasites, and even if it does they will most likely not be anything that can translate to your bichirs. One thing I would watch for is the kind of sand you use and if it has any harmful chemicals/ingredients.

4) Almost all polys get darker when on black sand. Upper jaws tend to get dark and exhibit green pigments. The amount of green pigmentation varies from polys to poly. On Lower jaws they usually get really dark and faded. There are some laps that excel on black sand, but most times all lower jaws look faded and leave more to be desired on black.

Thanks for the quick responsed.

 

[Polyaddict86]

So will my ornate be darker, and my endli might become black if i use black sand, what substrate can be neutral for both polys???

 

[Dr.B]

Endli won't be exactly black, but it'll most likely get darker and it's stripes look faded. The ornate will probably get a little darker and get some green. Garnet/ Red Garnet is a very jaw-nuetral substrate. Both look very nice on it.

 

[Polyaddict86]

Endli won't be exactly black, but it'll most likely get darker and it's stripes look faded. The ornate will probably get a little darker and get some green. Garnet/ Red Garnet is a very jaw-nuetral substrate. Both look very nice on it.

Is this the garnet red substrate??

 

[Dr.B]

looks like it, yes

 

[Polyaddict86]

T

looks like it, yes

Thanks Dr.B, i will looks for those in the weekend.

 

[jaws7777]

Look at some of ExoticGREEN posts. He has black sand

 

[DMD123]

Ive never had mine on any dark sand so I really cant say what they would look like on that. But I did use 'lapis lustre' in my qt tank and the koliba lap and dabola endli looked horribly washed out. This stuff is a sand that can be found in large bags for cheap. not really construction grade but similar. In my 300g I use CaribSea Peace River which is just a bit darker than the other stuff and my teugelsi and weeksii look really good on it and the lower jaw are okay but could use a bit more pop. Ive read somewhere of the 'perfect' mix with a certain percentage of red garnet, black and tan. Still have not seen what that looks like.