Pink sand vs. black sand

[blackmetaltea]

Hey all.
I'm thinking about replacing my sandbed with something different. I currently just have the Caribbean live sand (not a fan of it). I love the look of both pink sand, or black sand. I want some personal onions /pictures

 

[Retro Reefer]

Beautiful rock scape.. I would leave it like it is

 

[Slm222]

If anything go with the pink. The black is able to scratch the glass if it gets under the cleaner. Also if you have any sand burrows they will appreciate the softness of the pink vs the sharp edges of the black

 

[redfishbluefish]

@Slm222 commented about black scratching your glass.....the reason is that most (if not all) black sands have a ferric component that is attracted to your magnetic cleaner.....and thereby scratches the glass/acrylic of your tank.

 

[blackmetaltea]

Beautiful rock scape.. I would leave it like it is

Thank you! I bought this rock piece off of Craigslist! Best $40 I've spend for the tank

 

[blackmetaltea]

If anything go with the pink. The black is able to scratch the glass if it gets under the cleaner. Also if you have any sand burrows they will appreciate the softness of the pink vs the sharp edges of the black

Would it be safe to replace the entire sandbed?

 

[TheEngineer]

I have black sand in my tank. I love the look. If you are getting your cleaner close enough to get sand stuck to it you're getting close enough to pick up any sand anyway. Don't make that a deciding factor.

 

[blackmetaltea]

I have black sand in my tank. I love the look. If you are getting your cleaner close enough to get sand stuck to it you're getting close enough to pick up any sand anyway. Don't make that a deciding factor.

Do you have any pictures? I don't use the magscrubs anyway, regular sand has scratched up the glass with those. So that really wouldn't make a difference for me

 

[ReeferReefer]

I don't have any pics but I think black sand looks great. I have a few friends with black sand and it really makes the corals on the sand bed pop!

 

[saltyphish]

Yes you can replace the entire sand bed safely just go slow with it. I removed a portion of mine with each water change. I have a 29 biocube and took about 2 mths to complete. I could probably have removed it in 1 mth easily but I just removed the sand with water changes so that is the amount it worked out to be. I plan on leaving this tank BB now. Actually going to let the gsp cover the bottom. My 80 I am working on will have the black sand. I like the way colors pop against the black sand. Imagine placing a brightly colored coral on the sand. The contrast really makes the colors on the coral look so much more brighter. Some people say you lose the light being reflected back up to the coral on the rock work from the white sand possibly creating some shading. While I can see the legitimacy of that claim and agree with it I will be running a lps tank and will not matter much for me.

 

[TheEngineer]

Crummy cell phone pic

 

[revhtree Verified Admin]

No comment on the sand except that your reef looks great so far! Don't change too much!

 

[Kungpaoshizi]

Pink sand is rose quartz maybe? Can't recall.. I do know from experience that black sand can leach several different metals. (volcanic rock)
I had a huge aluminum problem that prevented all the corals from fully extending. Thank you Triton for that water test...

 

[blackmetaltea]

I just keep getting algae growth on my sandbed. I've been siphoning everyday, and just bought ten snails and dumped em' in [emoji106] hopefully that works. I'm just sick of being able to see everything on the whiter sandbeds, but it does make me stay on top of maintenance. I do love the look of the corals on the black sandbed

 

[GrandLotus]

Pink sand gets my vote.

 

[Brian Kim]

I have both pink and black(Hawaiian Black) Love them both

 

[dmax525]

I have the black and i like it!

 

[FlyinBryan]

I just keep getting algae growth on my sandbed. I've been siphoning everyday, and just bought ten snails and dumped em' in [emoji106] hopefully that works. I'm just sick of being able to see everything on the whiter sandbeds, but it does make me stay on top of maintenance. I do love the look of the corals on the black sandbed

Are you running a gfo/carbon reactor? I had all kinds of algae breakout on my bio-cube until I added a small one.

I travel too much and couldn't get ahead of it until I did.

Great looking tank, imo, leave as is. Changing sand now even in small amounts can keep tank in a continuous mini-cycle. It can really stress and strain livestock in tank.

 

[blackmetaltea]

Are you running a gfo/carbon reactor? I had all kinds of algae breakout on my bio-cube until I added a small one.

I travel too much and couldn't get ahead of it until I did.

Great looking tank, imo, leave as is. Changing sand now even in small amounts can keep tank in a continuous mini-cycle. It can really stress and strain livestock in tank.

Any recommendations on what type to buy?

 

[mcmc1717]

I have black mixed with white sand I love the look I'll find some pics