Who runs black sand with their eels? Also what type of sand?

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91sbcamaro

Jack Dempsey
MFK Member
Apr 28, 2010
17
0
31
Omaha, NE
I am planning on re-doing my 125 gallon and would like to do black sand and more of an amazon planted tank look. I have been reading all day about black sand and heard the bad and good about everyone. I was going to go with pool filter sand, but I didn't realize they don't make a black color. Then it was 3M color quartz but can't find that either anymore.

If you do run sand can you let me know any negative experiences with your eels and more importantly what type of sand.
 
I used pool filter sand.. killed 3 fire eels... and I know others have never had issues with it. I use a fine gravel from red flint that our lfs carry. you can buy it by the lb. costs about 20$ iir for a 40lb bag. Reguardless of whatever you us.. rinse it welll... and run it in the tank imo no less then 24 hours before adding the eel to it to make sure its been filtered well.

I also prefer the "coarse sand" size over the ulta fine sand as it tends to avoid sticking to the fish, and is less liekly to get sucked into your filteration. my eels, and rays all seem to enjoy it.

general rule of thumb i hold to is if it's ray safe it's eel safe.
 
I wouldn't mind running a small grain gravel, Estes Colorquartz makes a different grain size but it looks like they have discontinued making the product. Seachem makes a Flourite Black gravel, its a bit pricey but it does look nice.

Anyone have experience running the Flourite Black? I just want to make sure my fire eel does ok in it and that it won't be to sharp.
 
yea i have pool filter sand with my 2 eels and 3 stingrays no problems. Just be sure to rise it, vacume it and stir it to get ride of any gasses in it. But that goes for all sand.
 
91sbcamaro said:
I am planning on re-doing my 125 gallon and would like to do black sand and more of an amazon planted tank look. I have been reading all day about black sand and heard the bad and good about everyone. I was going to go with pool filter sand, but I didn't realize they don't make a black color. Then it was 3M color quartz but can't find that either anymore.

If you do run sand can you let me know any negative experiences with your eels and more importantly what type of sand.
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i have black 3M color quartz and Cichlid Sand in my tanks with my 2 eels and they r fine.
 
I use the Flourite Black Sand in my grow out tank and it is good stuff. My 3 yellow tailed spiny eels and my 1 fire eel love digging around in it and live plants also do excellently with it. I would recommend putting it in a pillow case and rinsing it with a hose for about 5 minutes then straining and put it in a 5gallon bucket before putting it into the tank. Using a PVC funnel to add it to the tank if it is already full of water. Funnel can easily be made with 2 feet of 2" pvc piping and a 2"-4" coupler. This allows putting sand directly to the bottom of tank with minimal clouding.
It has also helped bring out the colors in many of my fish. All around I would say the Flourite Black Sand is definitely a good choice.
 
lonzoencho said:
I run a white black sand mix with my fire eel, spiny peacock and once had a tiretrack that I gave to a friend. They both enjoy it but the thing is sand is a lot more annoying to clean


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Funny you say that, I found it quite pleasant vs gravel. The only thing I hated was the feeling of never knowing if you got it completely cleaned or not during maintenance.
 
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