# Black vs White Substrate



## chiuey (Jan 12, 2017)

I know it has been talked to death, and I've read hundreds of posts...I STILL can't decide whether to do Black Tahitian moon sand or Eco Complete white sand. Maybe I can get a few more inputs? I will have an all male hap/peacock tank, 6 feet wide glass tank with an aquadecor background (still deciding which model). Stand is white against a whitish wall, basic theme in my house is also white. I just pulled the trigger on an aquaneat 72" LED lighting. Pros and cons of white vs black sand? Arghhhhhhhh


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## Posjr408 (Mar 22, 2017)

Black sand 100% Helps bring out the colors of the fish plants ect imo. Gives more contrast. Not the best pic but ideal. Down fall is the detritus is more visible.


upload photo on site


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## gillmanjr (Jan 27, 2017)

I read somewhere that cichlids don't like really bright conditions and that darker substrate reduces glare in the tank (for the fish). I'm not sure if its true or not. I had a tough time deciding as well but ended up going with white because my tank background is black and my stand is black. I'm glad I went with white, its a good contrast against the black background and stand. In your situation, since you have a white stand, you might want to go with black substrate. What color is your tank background?


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## wryan (Dec 6, 2015)

gillmanjr said:


> I read somewhere that cichlids don't like really bright conditions and that darker substrate reduces glare in the tank (for the fish). I'm not sure if its true or not.


Some folks will mention that the lakes don't have dark sand so use white.

What rarely gets mentioned though is the amount of turbidity in the water and the light falloff at various depths ... as compared to low turbidity in an aquarium and an intense light close, overhead.

Imagine being outside on a bright sunny day ... when the ground is completely covered with snow.

I'm no cichlid, but I know I tend to reach for my sunglasses on such occasions.


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## chiuey (Jan 12, 2017)

My background is the other big headache. I have no idea which model from aquadecor to choose from because they all look good. I'm leaning towards the b8 model because it looks like the fish can swim in and out of the caves in the middle. I would like to have the background a light grey/bluish color, instead of brown.


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## chiuey (Jan 12, 2017)

Actually, does anyone know of a gray sand substrate? I don't really like the salt and pepper look.


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

Note that some cichlids "color down" to try to match the black substrate. Examples include leleupi and cyps. I have never verified with Malawi. I'm getting rid of my black.

I don't like salt and pepper either and I've never seen solid gray. But my favorite after 10 years of experimentation is the natural sand color. Mostly because it is available with a reliable grain of 20 which makes it easier to keep clean. Mbuna are found in shallow water.

I have gray backgrounds in all my tanks as opposed to brown as well.


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## wryan (Dec 6, 2015)

chiuey said:


> Actually, does anyone know of a gray sand substrate? I don't really like the salt and pepper look.


There are a couple of products you can use (Estes' Permacolor Quartz, 3M Color Quartz), although I don't think that either of them are straight sand (either epoxy or ceramic coated silica)

Permacolor Quartz - Estes

3M ColorquartzTM Ceramic-Coated Crystals

These products are used for finishing surfaces (such as plastering pools), so you would need to locate a distributor in your area.


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## tanker3 (May 18, 2015)

My 75gal has a whitish PFS (pool filter sand) and my 58gal has Black Tahitian moon sand. I think it will depend on the color of the fishes and rocks. My Saulosi tank has mostly light color fish and I like the dark sand, my 75gal has a mix and I like the lighter sand. So, it would depend on the color of your fishes and rocks.


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## wryan (Dec 6, 2015)

DJRansome said:


> Note that some cichlids "color down" to try to match the black substrate. Examples include leleupi and cyps. I have never verified with Malawi.


I've noticed this with my auratus, who I recently moved into a tank with Black Diamond blasting media ... not really noticeable with the male, but big difference with the females.


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

That's what I thought with the leleupi...bright orange fish went absolutely sooty over the black.

It wasn't until I was selling them and they were in a temp tank with beige pool filter sand that I realized it was the substrate. Like night and day, they turned bright orange again.


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## engotski (Dec 29, 2014)

I have white sand in my Malawi tank and natural tan in my Tang tank (both painted black background). I really like tan > white specially with rock work and proper lighting...in terms of affecting color of fish, lighting plays a bigger role than substrate color IMO.

I've always wanted to try black sand but never had a chance...


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## Iggy Newcastle (May 15, 2012)

You're already doing a background, so I assume you're going for a natural look. Darker rock work to match the background. Go with a white or tan colored sand. Otherwise your whole tank will be a dark color with no contrast.


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## nodima (Oct 3, 2002)

My favorite tanks have always been those where the background and substrate are similar in color. To me it looks natural, as if the substrate was simply de-constituted rock and originally came from the background. I have white PFS in my Tropheus and SA tanks, which I don't really like as it is too white for my tastes, but was inexpensive and the right size, so I've not changed it out.


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