Black sand - anyone using it?

[s1214215]

Hi Everyone

Is anyone here using black sand in there tank? I would like to see what it looks like in a reef - particularly with SPS.

I have looked around but not found any pics. Can members using black sand post some?

Many thanks

Brett

 

[bwoody62]

I've seen one tank with black sand and MH lighting, and the tank looked very dark, I think the black absorbs alot of light!

 

[dastratt]

In my 54g I used this
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=3578+10741+7324&pcatid=7324

and this

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=3578+10741+7318&pcatid=7318

the second product resulted in a salt and pepper look I'm not thrilled
with. The first product was neat actually if you like the look. I used this

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=3578+10741+7326&pcatid=7326

on my nano tank and like it better

 

[ManotheSea]

Im looking for black sand tank pictures also. I know I have seen them but I cant find any now. I know they are out there. Can we get some examples here please. Especially in a nano, but any will be a big help.

 

[Dubbin1]

Black sand looks good when new but over time it looks like crap.

 

[GoingPostal]

12 gallon Aquapod

 

[asherah]

I love the black sand and I plan on using it when I upgrade my tank

asherah

 

[dwissler]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11927550#post11927550 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Dubbin1
Black sand looks good when new but over time it looks like crap.

Does anyone have any black sand that has been in the tank for awhile?

 

[FishFace28]

GoingPostal,

That looks really cool. How long has the tank been setup with the black sand? Do you have any problems with it looking icky?

 

[GoingPostal]

This tanks been up over a year but the black sand is new, it was added about a month ago. I tried it out in my betta's 2.5 gallon planted before putting it in this tank, it's still black and clean in there after six months so I we went ahead and switched this one over.
Honestly it looks really nice in person and there's no fish in the tank, just a couple hermits and if it starts looking icky I'm going to siphon some out and add more, I still have half the bag. Although I recommend a good rinsing, we rinsed it out until the water ran clear and it still turned the tank black for a few hours, I stuck in a sponge and some carbon and it cleared right up.

 

[Zucker26]

I also like the look of black sand, but I'm thinking about going bare-bottom on my next tank. Has anyone ever used/seen black starboard used in barebottom tanks? I know black starboard is used often in the marine industry, so I think it might look nice on the bottom of a barebottom setup.

 

[GoingPostal]

There's a tank thread in the clam forum with black starboard.

 

[FishyPreacher]

I used black sand on the 10 and then a mix on my 29. After 1 1/2 years on the 10 it was nasty. I threw it out when I got the 29. I had to rebuild the 29 after 1 1/2 years and using every kind of snail/crab/starfish... known to man to keep it looking good. I was lightly stocked it just shows everything.

I struggles with the 10 and pure black sand to keep ph up but that could have been the size of the tank.

 

[RoscoPColtrane]

I had black sand a few years ago. Every bit of waste and snail poop shows. I swapped it out after 1 year.

 

[shred5]

A friend of mine just bought some black sand and it was loaded with little pieces of metal. He found out when he put his magnet cleaner and the metal stuck to it. There are pictures of it at club zoa.


Dave