black sand?

[pilotrob]

hey since i cant find info on it anywhere around here ill just ask - why doesnt anyone use black sand? I am thinking about setting up a new aquarium for a fuzzy dwarf lionfish and wanted to use "black tahitian moon sand". is there something bad about it or do people just not like it?

anyway i got a used 20 gallon tank with hood, lights, heater, filter and other misc stuff for 15 bucks and was planning on putting just a dwarf lion in there along with maybe some red macroalge and a few live rocks, just thought black sand might be kind of cool. thoughts???

pilotrob

[MikeS]

Most people with reefs or FOWLR tanks tend to use aragonite or CC, because these substrates will aid in calcium/alkalinity in the tank. If you intend to use LR in the tank, I'd go with the aragonite.

Mike

[rememberme]

Don't know if that stuff is naturally black - but a lot of coloured sand and gravel in the UK is artificaial and slowly washes out. It looks awful. If it is naturally black, then take some pictures coz I wanna see them!!

[MikeS]

I think the sand he is referring to is actually black. I've seen black sand beaches before, I bet it comes from one of these.

As for the composition of the sand itself, I'm unsure, I'll have to check into it...

Mike

[coral_diver]

I think the sand is the Arag alive by Caribsea? I believe that is who makes the tahitian moon. I am pretty sure it is natural. I have seen natural black sand. I almost went with some they sell a mix of white/black water packed at RMS maybe Chuck could tell you more if this is what it is? That is what I have is the water packed arag alive just no black in it. Good stuff IMO.

[pilotrob]

it is a caribsea product but its dry sand so not alive i guess. the LFS originally gave me a bag of the arag alive black but it was almost half white so i opted for the tahitian moon sand which is as they say 'jet black' instead. heres what caribseas website says:

Our most popular decorative sands, Tahitian Moon black sand and Marine Sand white sand are a great way to accent your brightly colored tropical fish. Can be used in fresh or saltwater. These products will not affect pH.

thats it- they dont say too much. i bought it and put in my tank along with some reef bones, live rock from my reef tank. i had to rinse it pretty thoroughly first, looks like when you rinse off carbon. so far so good i guess. i wish i could seed it with sand from my other tank but oh well. hope it works out ok. like i said before, i still cant figure out why people dont put it in their tanks if anyone wants a picture of what it looks like let me know id be happy to post one.

[coral_diver]

I would love to see a pic of it! I really feel that it is natural though and if it is Carribsea I would worry about it to much. I think people just go for the natural whites and shells etc out of I guess maybe fear to stray as much from what is in their mind as to what a reef looks like? Not many beaches are black sand but that is not to say they do not exist it just depends on location location location :D I am sure it looks very nice and is a more origional choice.

I used Indo-Pacific in most of my tanks and its way cool. I tried Tahitian Moon and it is so fine that it floats, is easily stirred up and will definitely do a number on any power heads in short order. It does look nice though. The black sand in Indo Pacific is a little more courser and seems to be a different type of compistion altogether as compared to Tahitian Moon.

JME.........

[MikeS]

Imaexpat2....do you know what this sand is primarily composed of? How long have you used the black sand in your tank?

I'm guessing it is volcanic....

Mike

[pilotrob]

hey i hope this works, im trying to put a picture of my tank in here so you can see it but i am new to this so if i screw it up keep that in mind :-D hopefully you can see that all the sand settled right to the bottom and compaired to my reef tank, in which i used pink figi sand, it all settled within 1 day. i did however rinse it before it went in. the little white specs of sand are from the rock i took out of my reef. btw, you can see my reef in the reflection. so far i really like it.

I am not sure what the difference is in the two. The black substrate in the Indo Pacific looks as though its crushed live rock dyed black in texture and color. The Tahitian Moon looked as though it was fine lava sand simular to the ash I saw after Oshima Island blew its top outside Tokyo bay about 13 years ago. The beaches in Barbados looks the same too. Its just a guess though as I dont know for sure.

I have been using Indo Pacific for about 12 months now. I really dig the black sand in it. It gives the tank a real unique look to it without making it too dark. The lighter colored sand really contrast with it nicely. I am one to buck the popular vote on a regular basis though, so it figures I would like it. Its just seems like everybody has white sand and Fiji rock. Its nice dont get me wrong, I just wanted something a little different.

Let me know how the Tahitian Moon works out for you. I am looking to set up a tank just for seahorses and thought I would give it a try again. It seems like it would be a good substrate to grow some Turtle Grass in with a few other macro-algaes for a dedicated Sea Horse Tank.

BTW...looks NICE!

This reefing thing is sure addicting....HUH?