# Best Black Sand substrate



## cherokee2871

Hey Guys looking to get away for the white sand substrate found some good black cichlid substrates but they don't so black in the bag that in the bag when I ordered it wondering if anybody had some suggestions even better some pics of their tanks with the black substrate and what they used it would be a great help to me trying to decide on a substrate. Thanks :thumb:


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## smitty814

Some ppl use black diamond blasting sand. It's very cheap. Imo it's manufacturing process is a little dubious. I'm thinking it's iron or copper slag. So I would use pfs and mix in some black sand purchased from a fish place. I have seen tanks with a mix of beige pfs and black sand. They look good.


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## DJRansome

I use flourite black sand, but I don't have a pic.


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## cherokee2871

With using a substrate without a buffer how are y'all maintaining a high ph strictly with chemicals?


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## GTZ

I'm using CaribSea Super Naturals Tahitian Moon. Regarding pH levels; assuming your tap water is at the correct levels, weekly water changes are the norm and keep things where they need to be. Alternatively, adding a buffer like baking soda works if your tap water parameters are insufficient. Check your KH and GH levels before assuming you need to buffer.


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## DJRansome

In addition, in other tanks I DO have a substrate that is supposed to buffer but it has never worked. So now I just choose a substrate based on what I like. You can always put crushed coral in your filter if you want to try a natural buffer.


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## eutimio

Tahitian moon sand by Caribsea...tends to me on the expensive side..looks good in my opinion.


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## Dawg2012

Tahitian Moon black sand looks pretty good. Setup a 75g tank with it, then bought a bunch more for the other tanks in the living room...

... then decided I didn't like it. It shows all the gunk all the time, and any dust that gets stirred up in the tank just sits on it... It also brought out all the darker colors in my fish. I thought my Chalinochromis would look really good against it... but sadly they just looked dirty.

I also thought my red and green rocks would pop against it, but they didn't...

I also prefer the buffering effect of the African Cichlid Sand. I definitely see an effect. Of course the beige doesn't stay clean, but IMO/E doesn't show dirty like the black did.

Now I have six bags I don't want, as well as a container with what used to be in the 75g tank, which is maybe another four bags.

Too bad you're in Florida lol.


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## eutimio

To be honest..i have the white sand in my other tank and it cant be compared to the black.The white one shows all the gunk while the black hides it a little better...I admit that the beige would work best on that matter but if you have a spray bar you wont have this problem anyway.After I set up my 150 with white sand i was about to take it out when i saw how ugly the poop looks on the sand.Then made the spray bar and im shocked with the results.I thought im building one just for surface agitation and it actually cleaned the tank very very well.So if youre considering one, you can go with whatever sand color you like.Also you should consider the lights as well when choosing the color of the sand.Just a comparison i made..when i put the 24 inch LED fixture on my 150G which is 30 inch deep...the white substrate bounces the light back in the tank and it looks to be well lit while when i put it on my 30G with black sand...is not nearly as bright and to be honest i think its on the dark side and the tank is so much smaller...So I would consider this fact as well .


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## Dawg2012

Ah good point! A spray bar would help for sure. Maybe there's yet hope for all that sand I bought LOL! Still have to decide on a substrate for the 180... though I do like the buffering effect of the Cichlid sand. Hmmmmm........


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## 4RSo

I use the tahitian moon black sand in my 125gal. It looks really nice with the blue stone I have ( bluestone is more of a dark grey - black with white accents ) once I get my lighting situation figured out and get some nice algae growing on those rocks, with a simple slimline background I think the tank will look spectacular. Reminiscent of the volcanic blacksand beaches around Hawaii and Iceland









The only thing I could easily do without is the fact that tahitian moon sparkles. The facets on those grains are insane.


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## 13razorbackfan

I use the black sand from petco and really like it. Works well. You can see video in my sig line.


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## aprildawn

I have black blasting sand & I love it.


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## aicardi

4RSo said:


> I use the tahitian moon black sand in my 125gal. It looks really nice with the blue stone I have ( bluestone is more of a dark grey - black with white accents ) once I get my lighting situation figured out and get some nice algae growing on those rocks, with a simple slimline background I think the tank will look spectacular. Reminiscent of the volcanic blacksand beaches around Hawaii and Iceland
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> The only thing I could easily do without is the fact that tahitian moon sparkles. The facets on those grains are insane.


 Ah! Another Chicagoan. Lake Michigan sand mixed with some black.


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## 4RSo

i've heard of people using Lake Michigan sand, but private beaches is probably the way to go in terms of getting the stuff. Mind posting some pictures of your setup?


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## aicardi

4RSo said:


> i've heard of people using Lake Michigan sand, but private beaches is probably the way to go in terms of getting the stuff. Mind posting some pictures of your setup?


Actually I was joking on the lake sand. However I do have sand that looks very close to it. I was at the lake this summer and did like the sand. I would imagine one could get into trouble filling up a few buckets. 
I just changed out my white sand for the tan colored sand. Now I am looking for a little larger grained black to add in as well.
Will post a pic when done.


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## Meisterkiyoh

my 55 is currently using 40lbs of CaribSea Black Tahitian Moon Sand with 10lbs of CaribSea Moon Sand(White) and it looks pretty good. https://www.dropbox.com/s/vi5or5be000z8po/2012-10-17 18.00.47.jpg


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## testeve

I have the Caribsea Black sand as well. I feel it helps to hide some of the poop and gunk on the bottom. I also love the way the darker color helps to make the fish colors pop. The only down side I have seen with this sand product is that when I try to vacuum out some of the gunk, it gets sucked out with the gunk because it is so light. Now I just stir up the sand and then put the suction tube nearby to catch the gunk. Overall, I love the product and get lots of compliments from peopel that see my tank.


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## heyzeusbrains

+1 for the black Petco sand. Just put in my new 55 and I only had to rinse it once - very clean sand. And it looks great. Costs almost a dollar per pound though so it is on the more expensive side. I used one 20 pound bag for my 55 gallon and it did the job... I could use maybe 5 or 10 pounds more if I wanted a deeper sand bed.


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## Meisterkiyoh

only 20 pounds of substrate for a 55? seems like it'd be a really thin layer


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## ratbones86

if you go with black sand it will show everything and i mean EVERYTHING. i have it in one of my 55 gallons and i hate it. im going to go with a dark brown pfs next time i set up my other 55 gallon im going to be doing. trust me. the black does look good but is a pain to keep clean and looking good. you will have to vacume it all the time just about every 2-3 days if not more.


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## heyzeusbrains

Meisterkiyoh said:


> only 20 pounds of substrate for a 55? seems like it'd be a really thin layer


It is thin in spots.. in revisiting this issue I could probably use another 20 pounds


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## ratbones86

in my 55 I have 40 lbs of sand in my tank and theres probably about 2" in the low spots and about 4-5" in high spots where they move it.


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## DJRansome

Unless you have plants, 2" is plenty.


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## mrbeadheadful

I like my substrate 1/2" to 2" max.


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## 13razorbackfan

mrbeadheadful said:


> I like my substrate 1/2" to 2" max.


Me too. I try to keep mine thin enough so it is not piled against the glass which makes for easier cleaning with my mag float otherwise I scratch my glass.


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## metricliman

I keep mine about the level of the trim.


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## 13razorbackfan

metricliman said:


> I keep mine about the level of the trim.


I try to do this as well but my fish have other plans.


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## cichlid-gal

heyzeusbrains said:


> +1 for the black Petco sand. Just put in my new 55 and I only had to rinse it once - very clean sand. And it looks great. Costs almost a dollar per pound though so it is on the more expensive side. I used one 20 pound bag for my 55 gallon and it did the job... I could use maybe 5 or 10 pounds more if I wanted a deeper sand bed.


I was at Petco about three weeks ago looking for some of the Carib Sea sand and all they had was the Petco sand. They said that's all they carry now. So I bought some black and copper colored as I had painted the back of the tank a metallic copper color and thought this might look cool. Well, getting the sand home and trying to rinse it all I got was a bunch of floating bubbles of sand...it was like those Japanese bubble treats...OMG...I just couldn't get them to stop and it seemed that with the sand acting this way it would be a problem with my filters as it would be floating and be taken up into the filters and possibly damage them. Suffice to say, I ditched the colored sands from Petco and went with my PFS. I'm happy but the black and copper would have looked cool I think. Was I just expecting this sand to act like the PFS and in reality it was OK to use? Just made me nervous is all.


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## heyzeusbrains

cichlid-gal said:


> I was at Petco about three weeks ago looking for some of the Carib Sea sand and all they had was the Petco sand. They said that's all they carry now. So I bought some black and copper colored as I had painted the back of the tank a metallic copper color and thought this might look cool. Well, getting the sand home and trying to rinse it all I got was a bunch of floating bubbles of sand...it was like those Japanese bubble treats...OMG...I just couldn't get them to stop and it seemed that with the sand acting this way it would be a problem with my filters as it would be floating and be taken up into the filters and possibly damage them. Suffice to say, I ditched the colored sands from Petco and went with my PFS. I'm happy but the black and copper would have looked cool I think. Was I just expecting this sand to act like the PFS and in reality it was OK to use? Just made me nervous is all.


Yes, I noticed that too when I first washed it and put it into the tank (the floating sand). But I just knocked down the sand that was floating on the surface, it sunk, and I haven't had any problems. Once it gets completely submerged, it doesn't float anymore.


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