# question about sand substrate



## stath (Jan 15, 2011)

im planning on switching my african cichlid substrate to sand and i dont know whether to go black or white sand. my question on white sand is will it ever get dirty? like collect algae on it and over time turn ugly brown?


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## thharris (Jun 29, 2010)

With white it will change colour, but mine seemed to turn a little golden which I liked. Nothing like what your thinking off.


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## stath (Jan 15, 2011)

do you have any picture handy? its just a little harder for me to decide because my tank is too big if i change my mind. maybe ill go for a salt n pepper look.


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## hgi (Jun 13, 2010)

Here's white silica, this tank in the photo been up for a year with sand and it still looks like this but now has zero plants and very low lights.

I find that white sand shows the debris/waste like a sore thumb(note the bottom left of the photo), if I could do it again I'd probably go black.


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## 2wheelsx2 (Apr 21, 2010)

As I've already discussed with you via PM, I really like my white sand and I have no problems with it because of my flow pattern. But then I've only had mine for about 3 months, but it still looks as white as when I put it in the tank and my tank is planted and receives quite a bit of light.

I think it's a matter of setup and personal preference.

I think hgi is partially right, in that it hides the dirt a bit better, but I've had black eco-complete also, and debris is still very visible on black substrate, but you just need more before it become an eye sore.

The difference is that the black substrate makes the tank very dark and requires you use more light to get the right effect, whereas the white/light substrates allows you to have a bright tank with a lot less light, IMO.


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## Mferko (Jun 8, 2010)

some sulawesi snails in my crushed aragonite helps keep it white they go through and eat all the algae and when theres alot of them i just use a net to screen them out, the aragonite is fine enough to sift with a regular fish net
lots of water flow helps too

black though might make their colors more bold, my calvus's black stripes were much darker with the black substrate then now


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## discuspaul (Jul 2, 2010)

Have a look at the white silica sand in my 75 gal. to see what you think.
flamingos pictures by discuspaul - Photobucket
The photos were taken about 2 months ago after the tank had been set up for over 6 months.
Very easy to keep clean with my 2 X week wc/s & vac., and even with quite bright light, it doesn't ever get more than a very fine film of algae, in spots from time to time, between wc's, which is easily removed with moderate sand swirling with a large plastic fork-type utensil.
The fish and plant colors really pop. I love it and wouldn't go back to any dark substrate.


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## jobber (May 14, 2010)

2wheelsx2 said:


> As I've already discussed with you via PM, I really like my white sand and I have no problems with it because of my flow pattern. But then I've only had mine for about 3 months, but it still looks as white as when I put it in the tank and my tank is planted and receives quite a bit of light.
> 
> I think it's a matter of setup and personal preference.
> 
> ...


+1 for the above information. I got black sand and it contrasts the debris well. But I'd go with white sand for a more natural look.


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## target (Apr 21, 2010)

I'd go white. I love the white sand in my tank and it doesn't really get that dirty if you keep up your maintanence.


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## Morainy (Apr 21, 2010)

Mferko's tank has white sand and it looked amazing when I saw it. In addition to the snails that he mentioned, he has some hard-working plecos that do a great job everywhere.


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## christhefish (Nov 8, 2010)

why not go with playsand its a mix of white black and tan then you dont have to choose 
it doesn't show the dirt too much either



hgi said:


> Here's white silica, this tank in the photo been up for a year with sand and it still looks like this but now has zero plants and very low lights.
> 
> I find that white sand shows the debris/waste like a sore thumb(note the bottom left of the photo), if I could do it again I'd probably go black.


nice tank


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## ngo911 (May 19, 2010)

hgi said:


> I find that white sand shows the debris/waste like a sore thumb(note the bottom left of the photo), if I could do it again I'd probably go black.


+1 on this. Although I siphon the sand weekly, I still notice poop all over during the week. I must say though its just a quick siphon, it would take me too long to siphon every bit.


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## Phyrex (Feb 1, 2011)

I'm on the fence also. Setting up my first tank (20g) and not sure if I should go white or black. I'm putting kribs/rams/apisto in the tank and was told that black sand will bring out the colours of the fish better. Then again I can't find too many SA cichlid tanks with black sand. Maybe I'll go brown or red. I'll probably be deciding tomorrow when I pick up the sand.


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## Karen (Apr 22, 2010)

I have a tank with black and another tank with white and, yes poop is definitely more visible on the white sand. I still prefer white over black though, looks more natural IMO. I siphon weekly and also have the water flowing so that all the crap ends up in one corner. If it builds up enough to bug me before a water change I use a turkey baster (dedicated for fish duty) to suck it up, works really well. The only down side to white sand is that the colors on some fish look a little washed out.


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## stath (Jan 15, 2011)

wow everyone thanks for all the replies and opinions. like i said im only taking my time deciding because its such a big tank (270 gal), itll take time and money. maybe ill grab 1 bag of each colour and try out some samples with white, black, salt n pepper. again thanks for all the replies and ill for sure post some pictures of the tank. hopefully soon.


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## H5N1 (Apr 27, 2010)

It's sure not an easy choice to make. Everytime I have to change my substrate, it takes hours of hard work 
I guess it depends on what biotope you are trying to mimic too.
Here is a photo of my tank when I have black sand. I was aiming to create a dark environment for my leaf fish.


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## jobber (May 14, 2010)

substrate decisions are not easy to make. it took me about 2 weeks to think it through, yet even at the last moment, i changed my mind and chose black sand.


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## H5N1 (Apr 27, 2010)

And here is the substrate I used for my Multies tank. It will give you an idea of the salt & pepper look 
Oh btw, it hides "everything"


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## Mferko (Jun 8, 2010)

nice multis  they almost look familiar
when i upgrade to a larger tank i'l change from white to black sand so my calvus's stripes get darker again i think


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## stath (Jan 15, 2011)

H5N1 thanks for the posts. i really like the salt n pepper look. im thinking 3:1 bag ratio of white:black. like i said ill make some samples. 

your tanks look good. nice clear water


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## Phyrex (Feb 1, 2011)

What's the white:black ratio in your tank H5N1?


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## Mferko (Jun 8, 2010)

if you look at the early pictures in this thread compared to the later ones, u can see how the calvus go from dark on a black substrate to pearly white on a white one
http://www.bcaquaria.com/forum/memb...oto-journal-*feb-2-more-cute-goby-pics*-6606/
another thing to consider is you can get the white aragonite sugar sized which is extremely fine and the fish love sifting through it, not sure you can get black that fine, my shellies do alot more digging in this stuff than in the old black silica sand, they even bulldoze through it like occies are known to do (mine are multis)

but you can notice around the edges of the tank below the substrate can start to look a bit dirty, the plecos will gladly clean it up if you expose it

i like the look of the white sand better than black makes the tank brighter etc but i like the way my fish looked over the black sand better and the way it hid debris so its a tough decision for sure. substrate digging snails, BN's and lots of water movement will help the white stay white tho

also my white silica sand changed color over time to golden but the white araganite has not, its still pure white


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## H5N1 (Apr 27, 2010)

Mferko said:


> nice multis  they almost look familiar
> when i upgrade to a larger tank i'l change from white to black sand so my calvus's stripes get darker again i think


Haha, that's my old pair  And the ones I got from you are going great!



stath said:


> H5N1 thanks for the posts. i really like the salt n pepper look. im thinking 3:1 bag ratio of white:black. like i said ill make some samples.
> 
> your tanks look good. nice clear water


Thanks! You really don't need too much black. Once you mix it together, you will know 



Phyrex said:


> What's the white:black ratio in your tank H5N1?


I don't remember exactly, but the white is way more than black. They are actually very fine crushed coral and super fine aragonite sand. Just start with a tank of white substrate and start adding black sand slowly until you are please with the mixture ratio.


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