BLACKSAND BEDS! PROS & CONS? Let's see your sand!

[MarkSativa]

I'm debating using the Hawaiian Black live sand by Caribsea. I would like to know how many of you folks use this substrate and how your experience has been. Please post pictures.

 

[Old Fritz]

I used to use it for my nano tanks (a 10 and 15 gallon), only reason I stopped using it was I moved and to make moving easier I just dumped that sand and when I moved to where I currently live no one around me sold true black sand (there were some imitations like what petco has with really fine black gravel but its exactly that, gravel). So I went all white. I never bought the live sand stuff however as I personally don't believe in the buying it live because depending on how long its been bagged and sitting in storage you have no idea if that bacteria is even alive because eventually it will run out of nutrients. However I did like the contrast that comes with the live rock, to me the black sand makes the live or dry rock really pop. My gf has a tank with black gravel in it that we are currently building (moreso me buying and she's building it) the black gravel is pretty similar but it doesnt have as much surface area and to me (don't tell my gf I told you this) doesn't look as nice but it is super easy to work with. The downside of sand is it tends to make a mess when you first put it in. However I have noticed the black sand doesn't seem to make as much of a mess as normal sand though.

 

[MarkSativa]

I used to use it for my nano tanks (a 10 and 15 gallon), only reason I stopped using it was I moved and to make moving easier I just dumped that sand and when I moved to where I currently live no one around me sold true black sand (there were some imitations like what petco has with really fine black gravel but its exactly that, gravel). So I went all white. I never bought the live sand stuff however as I personally don't believe in the buying it live because depending on how long its been bagged and sitting in storage you have no idea if that bacteria is even alive because eventually it will run out of nutrients. However I did like the contrast that comes with the live rock, to me the black sand makes the live or dry rock really pop. My gf has a tank with black gravel in it that we are currently building (moreso me buying and she's building it) the black gravel is pretty similar but it doesnt have as much surface area and to me (don't tell my gf I told you this) doesn't look as nice but it is super easy to work with. The downside of sand is it tends to make a mess when you first put it in. However I have noticed the black sand doesn't seem to make as much of a mess as normal sand though.

I hear that the Caribsea Hawaiian has some red and white bits mixed in it, but mostly black. Where did you get your true black sand from?

 

[Old Fritz]

It was a lfs that was in north chicago, I don't know if its around anymore however, sadly a lot of lfs struggle here. I forget what type it was though, and it did have a bit of other coloration in it, real sand doesn't have just one color in it. If its solid black like the stuff at petco or petsmart its fake and probably plastic.

 

[DMG Reef]

I've been using the Caribsea Hawaiian Black for almost 5 yrs. in my SPS dominant reef tank. No complaints at all. I just wasn't excited about trying to keep white sand clean plus I like the contrast of the black with bright colored corals.

 

[rockskimmerflow]

I'm debating using the Hawaiian Black live sand by Caribsea. I would like to know how many of you folks use this substrate and how your experience has been. Please post pictures.

Unless you're really set on having a black substrate then I generally recommending skipping the black sand route. I have a number of clients who've gone with a black hawaiian sand substrate only to regret it. In fact, I think only one customer has been happy with their decision on the black substrate long term.

It's lighter than typical aragonite sand for a given granule size and has magnetic properties on some of the granules so they'll hop right on an algae magnet and won't let go until manually scraped off.

No right or wrong answer just some things to consider. I wish I had a couple photos handy for you. I'm sure google will have a bunch of reef tanks with black sand pics for reference though.

 

[freshy&salty]

I havent actually used black sand in any of my SW tanks but i have used it in 3 of my FW tanks. I love black but I have noted a couple differences between it and white.
Algae is mixed results as far visibility. On black, green seems the most dominate visibly yet on white i think the browns are the more visible.
Detritus (poop/food) are Equally mixed visibility when landing on black vs white sand. Frozen foods seem more visible on white sand whereas flake food seems to stand out more on black.
But the biggest difference Ive noticed is light. Light obviously reflects off of white sand better. Black sand tends to have alot more shadows towards the bottom. Personally i feel like a reef tank benefits from more light.
Below is my current black and white sand tanks. The black sand are all FW currently but they are all running full spectrum LED lights. I think you can see the lower shadowing i described above vs the white sand in the SW where there is significantly less shadowing.
Ive thought about trying a black sand in a SW tank also but so far each time white seemed more reef accurate.

 

[MarkSativa]

I've been using the Caribsea Hawaiian Black for almost 5 yrs. in my SPS dominant reef tank. No complaints at all. I just wasn't excited about trying to keep white sand clean plus I like the contrast of the black with bright colored corals.

I've only seen 1 tank with black sand and it looked amazing. The corals looked so much more bright and colorful than with white sand. Shout out to The Ark Pet Store in Merrillville Indiana. They have a awesome display tank.