Live sand or not

[TeamFortress_dude]

Hi. I am planning on getting a 16 gallon tank. I have a live sand supplier but the sand is white. I would like to get black sand but the black live sand is too expensive. I was wondering if I really need live sand or can I just use regular sand.

 

[exnisstech]

I would get a nice chunk of live rock rather than live sand. I always rinse my sand with tap water so it doesn't cloud the tank. Pick a sand you like.
I have no experience with black sand but I have read of people having problems with it containing metals. One item I read stated it was magnetic. Just mentioning that because you stated you really wanted black.

 

[TeamFortress_dude]

Thanks for that info. Ill look into the metal issue in black sand.

 

[Readywriter]

If you put live rock (thats been in the ocean or an established system for a while) you dont need live sand. Theres also bottled bacteria but I personally dont like the idea of it because you are never gonna get the same level of biodiversity out of a bottle and in my opinion leaving holes in a biome is asking for trouble.

Ive also heard the black sand is magnetic, and will seriously scratch the tank if picked up in an algae brush and it would make sense since it is volcanic in origin. Also, all the posts that Ive seen of people using it were young tanks I havent seen anyone posting about a tank with black sand thats been running for more than 6 months. Maybe it doesnt work out as intended long term? I dont know for sure but something to think about.