THE BLACK SAND THREAD

[Savier808]

Post any advice, pics, info, cleaning, brands, etc. on BLACK SAND!
(lets try not to make this the one person had a bad experience so sand's out the window thread)



Im starting a bichir/ geophagus tank and want to
use some black sand for the little bottom dwellers!

I've heard that black sand can be a nightmare to clean
and often clouds the water for days on end when stirred!

Can anyone verify this?
Any confident, satisfied Black Sand users out there?

 

[~ocean]

For SW it's awesome! It makes your little cowfishies (or normal fish) stand out! It maintains ph, and anyhow is awesome.

 

[Savier808]

Cool... Im doing fw tho!

Iknow it looks good but the guy at Pet Kingdom scared me off it!
He said it makes your tank (water?) dirty!

 

[Deaths Sting]

black sand is awesome!

i recommend: 3 M color quarts S grade (black)
however,
if that's not available, i recommend: the Tahitian moon sand (black)

as for prep: wash it 10X in a bucket or large Tupperware. run ur hands through it and make sure the water is clear and debris free before u put it in ur tank~!

heres a list of good ways to keep it out of the filter:

use a shallow layer of the stuff.. no more then 1'' deep

raise ur intakes as high as then can go!

use a hydro sponge as a prefilter over then intakes.

use it in a tank that is high... 18'' +

buy good sand, test it out before u buy it... use a glass of water and a spoon.. stir it up and see how long it takes to settle.. if it takes longer then 3 seconds.. i wouldn't use it..

 

[Savier808]

Is the 3m Color Quartz more expensive?

I found a distributor nearby but its sunday, labor day weekend and now we wait...

Hao may have found something, but only he knows how good it is...
http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=265191

 

[phillydog1958]

i don't have any black sand. i don't have any sand. i currently do gravel but hte black sand has a very exotic look. i like it. it reminds me of the black sand beaches in areas of the world where volcanic ash has darkened the beach.

 

[Deaths Sting]

Is the 3m Color Quartz more expensive?

http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=265191

its about $1/LB here .. however, i think its a lot cheaper in the US...

 

[tamzor]

just buy it if u end up not liking it mail it over here

 

[gomezladdams]

Colorquartz is much cheaper than anything youll find at the lfs,thats why its so popular.

 

[koop171]

black sand looks great if done right with the right fish. I've done it and I used estes' brand sand it's stupid expensive like $1 a pound. I couldn't find a dealer that sold 3M color quartz.

It looks good but it takes alot of cleaning to get it to not make you water look dark when added to the tank.

It's nice b/c all the poo stays on top of the sand so it makes it easy to clean.