Black sand

[kevin j.]

I have been out of the hobby for some time and I am going to set up a new tank. I am wanting to do a black sand bed. So I am wanting some input from people who have used black sand.

[Reeferparty]

Originally Posted by kevin j.

I have been out of the hobby for some time and I am going to set up a new tank. I am wanting to do a black sand bed. So I am wanting some input from people who have used black sand.

Do not use black beauty. It's made of iron slag and will suck your alkalinity. Just learned that the hard way and had to remove 80lbs. So I ordered caribsea Hawaiian live sand


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[skiingfast]

If you like the look go for it. I am using black and for contrast am getting a yellow watchmen who will make a cave under some rock.

Be aware of the grain size if you have fish like sifting gobies or wrasses that sleep in it. Black sand is often sold in course grains compared to regular sand.

It's not made of calcium so won't help buffer the tanks PH level. Similar to what was mentioned some brands contain magnetite an iron ore. If the iron is present it can stick to your cleaner and scratch the glass. Also unlike white sand it doesn't reflect light back up, so that can be worse for corals that need lots of light. It is also more resistant to algae growth because of the non reflectiveness.

[kevin j.]

Thanks for the input. It definitely helped.

[xanthurum]

I have it in my tank. I love the look plus it reminds me of Hawaii where I grew up.

[ALLIDOISREEF]

I plan on using it in my next tank, really makes the colors pop

[Rambo610]

I had a couple buddies tell me it messes with your ph. And I believe I read that somewhere as well

[xanthurum]

On the PH topic all I can say is mine is super stable at 8.1ish. Never goes above 8.3 and never below 7.9

[scuzy]

I love my black sand look.


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