Black Sand Substrate?

[Darkwynd]

Okay, I think I've managed to talk my wife into letting me get a bigger tank (we tentatively promised the kids gerbils, so I can now buy a bigger tank for the fish and use my 20 for the rodents). I'm not happy with my black gravel substrate, it's not really black anymore and it's only a year old, so I'm going to use this opportunity to change to something else. I would like to go with a black or very dark sand. Can anyone recommend something besides Tahitian Moon, which I understand packs too tight plus will eventually burn out the impeller on a HOB? I see that CS makes another black sand called Voodoo River which has a larger grain, but it still has the smaller particles that I'm worried about staying in the water column. Should I just give up and go buy some Leslie's PFS? I really, really like my dark substrate, but I also really, really like not having my filter burn up, too.

[jarrodaden]

I have been told that blasting sand is the way to go, but I have never tried it. The LFS I spoke with said there is a place near Almeda Genoa I think. I eventually decided to go with black gravel instead.

[black_knight]

I've used Tahitian Moon Sand. As with most dark substartes it will eventually collect debris that are lighter colored than it, thus changing it's over all look. Like all sands it will eventually wind up in your filter. One option to prevent or at least delay this is to put a sponge on your filter intake, and keep it high off the substrate. When I use the Tahitian sand I really rinse it out as well as I can to get rid of the finest particles. THe lighter colored sands have the same problem, you just don't notice the particles to the extent you do with the black sands. Voodoo River is a larger particle, but it's more of a gravel. The black dust particles will rinse out (like I said just more obvious than lighter colored substrates). Just run water in your bucket and stir till it's clear. I personally didn't like it (looks alittle like cheap black painted gravel). Your other option if this is freshwater- Eco-complete they make a nice larger sized dark substrate. Then there is the ADA aquasoil- it's grey. It won't ruin your filter. I will sometimes paint the bottom of my tanks black and keep it bare bottom. I've also experimented with siliconing tile and black rocks to the bottom (can look good , can look horrible). They use to make a product called Grey Coast. It was a saltwater substrate (though worked well in African Rift Tanks), it elevated the pH. At least I don't think it's around anymore. Others are Seachem- Flourite Dark/Black, Onyx Sand ( tough to rinse)- all will alter water chem- they have a website that list all the minerals found in their substrates.

[Mzungu]

I have Tahitian Moon sand in a tank, and it's been in there for about 4 years now. I've never had a problem with it, but I think the main reasons for that are because I have MTS in there and a ton of crypts that have taken over the tank and their roots help to move around the sand slowly, over time. It's also a taller tank (an 18g high, I believe) so if the sand is stirred up it doesn't tend to reach the intakes of the 2 HOBs on there.

The two posters above gave some great suggestions, but I just wanted to share my experience, in case you were really set on Tahitian Moon.

Is this tank going to be planted? If so, when the plants fill in enough, you won't have as much of a problem with unsightly debris visible on the sand. But if you're planning a hardscape in which the sand will be prominent, it might be better to choose one of the substrates suggested above.

[Darkwynd]

I was thinking about putting some anacharis or something in it, but that will be down the road and dependent on how long I'm getting OT. Honestly I wasn't really planning on changing anything until I had the money to do the bigger tank I'm planning (which won't be any time soon), but I couldn't pass up the opportunity to enlarge my tank when I saw it. Either way, I'm not really looking to do a heavily planted tank, but I am thinking about dabbling in it a little.