Black sand

[MixedFruitBasket]

I will be using Caribsea Hawaii black in my new tank. However I would like to see about putting down some finer sand in spots for my wrasses. Does anyone know of any black sand that's actually black sand and won't turn white or have the color wear off, AND is safe for a reef?

 

[ZoWhat]

Black sand has metals in it so some corals wont do so well.

You need to Google "Black Reef Sand Metals"
And
;Bookworm

I did black sand like 10yrs ago. HATED IT. Made everything look dreary and drab bc it absorbs all the light. Made the tank look dirty and dreary. Couldn't WAIT to get that crap out of there.



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[vetteguy53081]

If you use a magnetic algae scraper, it will pick up the sand and scratch your glass

 

[Scdell]

Don't use black sand. I did and had to remove it. Heavy metals in my ICP test, corals were doing bad. Things are much better now with it gone.

 

[bsagea]

Tahitian Moon is a soft black sand. I have it in one of my tanks mixed with some white. I personally love the black/white mix but Tahitian but you will need to use caution if using an algae scraper. I have Hawaiian Black in my cube but it has calcified in the front of the tank for some reason. In our half round, we have very fine sand. Had to get rid of my engineer goby because it always looked like it was snowing in there, plus the pumps move that sand very easily. I have several wrasses (sand sleepers) in all (3) of my tanks and none of them seem to have a problem with the black sand.

 

[Triple.T]

I wanted the Hawaiian sand in my current tank so bad until I read such horror stories. As mentioned above the metals and the risks are not worth the aesthetics imho.

 

[BeltedCoyote]

I wanted the Hawaiian sand in my current tank so bad until I read such horror stories. As mentioned above the metals and the risks are not worth the aesthetics imho.

Literally came to the exact same conclusion earlier today. Went with Carib seas special grade reef sand

 

[MixedFruitBasket]

I've used the black sand for about 5 years and never really noticed any issue with it (but then haven't been looking either). I personally love the black and how the colors look against it. But then I also hate the "blue light makes everything pop" trend. I use FHO and (gasp) white lights bulbs so you can see colors and corals perfectly against it. And yes, I know that it's magnetic because of small amounts of iron. I'll look into the coral issue just in case. However, this is the same substance found naturally in Hawaii (and similar beaches near volcanos) and the corals and fish there aren't suffering.
But you also don't normally find corals in *sand* (that pretty white stuff people like so much). Sand damages coral tissue as a whole. I remember even Jason Fox saying something about how sand kills corals.

 

[MixedFruitBasket]

Okay, did a quick look into Hawaiian black by caribsea. The only issues I found were red algae. Only place I saw fish deaths mentioned was when people used Tahiti moon. From the way the complaints read it sounds like either the people didn't cycle their tanks before adding fish or added all new sand to an existing tank with very little biofilm.
Some people complained because the black Hawaiian isn't aragonite, but basalt, i.e. the type of sand found around volcanic islands. I have not found any thing with substantial evidence of actual issues. I also use Fiji live rock in my system while lots of people use manmade rock or mined rock. The biofiltration offered by live rock is usually good enough it supports a tank with no sand.
I am truly interested in seeing information about Hawaiian black causing issues. As for the ICP test, does it differentiate inert metals from non inert? Is there an explanation anywhere as to why this substrate is unhealthy for corals? I'm not worried about the magnet part. My new tank is acrylic so I won't be cleaning it with anything but a sponge. My last tank already had horrific scratches so I didn't really have it as a priority. But this tank is new and acrylic so I'll be extra careful. Another reason why I like the black, I can see it better than the white if it's stuck on what I'm cleaning with.
I've seen the black sand used in LFS and I've seen white sand used (and later removed) as well.
I'll keep looking but any particular article references would be great. Thanks

 

[Scdell]

I've used the black sand for about 5 years and never really noticed any issue with it (but then haven't been looking either). I personally love the black and how the colors look against it. But then I also hate the "blue light makes everything pop" trend. I use FHO and (gasp) white lights bulbs so you can see colors and corals perfectly against it. And yes, I know that it's magnetic because of small amounts of iron. I'll look into the coral issue just in case. However, this is the same substance found naturally in Hawaii (and similar beaches near volcanos) and the corals and fish there aren't suffering.
But you also don't normally find corals in *sand* (that pretty white stuff people like so much). Sand damages coral tissue as a whole. I remember even Jason Fox saying something about how sand kills corals.

Black sand doesn't seem to affect LPS as much as SPS. My problem with was with SPS.
Yes it is found naturally, but we are running closed systems. You can't compare the two.

 

[Scdell]

Okay, did a quick look into Hawaiian black by caribsea. The only issues I found were red algae. Only place I saw fish deaths mentioned was when people used Tahiti moon. From the way the complaints read it sounds like either the people didn't cycle their tanks before adding fish or added all new sand to an existing tank with very little biofilm.
Some people complained because the black Hawaiian isn't aragonite, but basalt, i.e. the type of sand found around volcanic islands. I have not found any thing with substantial evidence of actual issues. I also use Fiji live rock in my system while lots of people use manmade rock or mined rock. The biofiltration offered by live rock is usually good enough it supports a tank with no sand.
I am truly interested in seeing information about Hawaiian black causing issues. As for the ICP test, does it differentiate inert metals from non inert? Is there an explanation anywhere as to why this substrate is unhealthy for corals? I'm not worried about the magnet part. My new tank is acrylic so I won't be cleaning it with anything but a sponge. My last tank already had horrific scratches so I didn't really have it as a priority. But this tank is new and acrylic so I'll be extra careful. Another reason why I like the black, I can see it better than the white if it's stuck on what I'm cleaning with.
I've seen the black sand used in LFS and I've seen white sand used (and later removed) as well.
I'll keep looking but any particular article references would be great. Thanks

My ICP test showed high levels of two heavy metals. One was Vanadium, I think the other was Molybdenum? Anyway do a search on here for " ICP test shows high Vanadium". Almost every one that has had high levels of the element was using black sand. It can come from rusting magnets, etc. I went through everything in my tank to find it. After researching I came to the conclusion it was the sand. I removed it and I haven't looked back yet at my decision.
It leaches certain metals and over time it will disappear. I wasn't willing to wait.
We know it has iron in it. Why put something in a closed system that will leach what you don't want in your tank?

 

[samnaz]

Nature's Ocean Bio-Activ Live Aragonite Beach Live Sand for Aquarium, 10-Pound, Black

 

[MixedFruitBasket]

Don't use black sand. I did and had to remove it. Heavy metals in my ICP test, corals were doing bad. Things are much better now with it gone.

On a side note about ICP test. Not sure which one you used, but this is an interesting article by Richard Ross.

Skeptical Reefkeeping 12: Triton Lab ICP-OES Testing of a Certified Artificial Saltwater Standard

From ReefsMagazine By Rich Ross and Dr. Chris Maupin At MACNA 25 in Denver, the potential for the new ICP-OES aquarium water testing by Triton Lab in Germany made many saltwater hobbyists swoon. Th…

packedhead.net

 

[MixedFruitBasket]

My ICP test showed high levels of two heavy metals. One was Vanadium, I think the other was Molybdenum? Anyway do a search on here for " ICP test shows high Vanadium". Almost every one that has had high levels of the element was using black sand. It can come from rusting magnets, etc. I went through everything in my tank to find it. After researching I came to the conclusion it was the sand. I removed it and I haven't looked back yet at my decision.
It leaches certain metals and over time it will disappear. I wasn't willing to wait.
We know it has iron in it. Why put something in a closed system that will leach what you don't want in your tank?

We say the same about copper but there are copper pieces inside pumps and skimmers.
I'm not arguing that metals are usually not something you want to just throw in, however, the iron in the Hawaiian black is supposed to be inert. Yes I have found pieces to be magnetic, but I've never had a coral fall into it and the flesh dissolve because of being agitated by sand particles either.
I know people talk about how bad silicate is for a tank...yet we used glass boxes.

I mean, I honestly do not know what positive/negative things occur from using it that are more or less or different from other types of sand people use.


As for the ICP test... I'll just leave this here. It's a good read especially if you are using Triton.

Skeptical Reefkeeping 12: Triton Lab ICP-OES Testing of a Certified Artificial Saltwater Standard

From ReefsMagazine By Rich Ross and Dr. Chris Maupin At MACNA 25 in Denver, the potential for the new ICP-OES aquarium water testing by Triton Lab in Germany made many saltwater hobbyists swoon. Th…

packedhead.net

 

[Scdell]

Nature's Ocean Bio-Activ Live Aragonite Beach Live Sand for Aquarium, 10-Pound, Black

Did a search as the link is bad. everyone says it's not black, but gray.

 

[bsagea]

Black sand doesn't seem to affect LPS as much as SPS. My problem with was with SPS.
Yes it is found naturally, but we are running closed systems. You can't compare the two.

Ironically, my SPS has the best polyp extension, color and growth in my cube which has all Hawaiian Black sand...My LPS does quite well with it too....This tank has a Hamilton 250 halide fixture with (4) t5's supplemented with ReefBrites and actually has the least amount of flow because of my clams...go figure....bsa

 

[MixedFruitBasket]

Did a search as the link is bad. everyone says it's not black, but gray.

Yeah, I know which brand I want to use, the CaribSea black Hawaiian. Which is the kind I've used for years. I was just curious if anyone knew of a finer black sand to add with it so the wrasses had a softer bed. All the black "sand" I have found has been dyed.

I mean, it's not an absolute must. They did well with a combination of black pebble rock and CaribSea Hawaiian. I'm not using any kind of pebbles this time because the destrius would get down under it too easily. I know a lot say the black looks "dirty." Well, if the destrius builds up, yeah it will. Which is why I vacuum deep into my sand. I actually stir it and work the "suction" end down into the substrate. Amazing how much crud you pull out doing that. I can have crystal clear water and pull out brown buckets of muck when I do water changes by digging into the sand to get under rocks and such.

I'd still love to read anything that does show basalt as being unhealthy for fish and corals. Because I honestly don't see how since reefs grow where there is volcanic activity.

 

[Scdell]

Yeah, I know which brand I want to use, the CaribSea black Hawaiian. Which is the kind I've used for years. I was just curious if anyone knew of a finer black sand to add with it so the wrasses had a softer bed. All the black "sand" I have found has been dyed.

I mean, it's not an absolute must. They did well with a combination of black pebble rock and CaribSea Hawaiian. I'm not using any kind of pebbles this time because the destrius would get down under it too easily. I know a lot say the black looks "dirty." Well, if the destrius builds up, yeah it will. Which is why I vacuum deep into my sand. I actually stir it and work the "suction" end down into the substrate. Amazing how much crud you pull out doing that. I can have crystal clear water and pull out brown buckets of muck when I do water changes by digging into the sand to get under rocks and such.

I'd still love to read anything that does show basalt as being unhealthy for fish and corals. Because I honestly don't see how since reefs grow where there is volcanic activity.

Go for it! It's your tank good luck.

 

[MixedFruitBasket]

Just in case anyone is interested. I realized that there is a black basalt sand available from Petco https://www.petco.com/shop/en/petcostore/product/imagitarium-black-aquarium-sand
I might get a bag and mix it in with what I'm doing now, I'll wait and see if I need it

 

[Paston1]

Just in case anyone is interested. I realized that there is a black basalt sand available from Petco https://www.petco.com/shop/en/petcostore/product/imagitarium-black-aquarium-sand
I might get a bag and mix it in with what I'm doing now, I'll wait and see if I need it

Any update?