What color sand should I use?

[seafansar]

I'm setting up another nano and I can use traditional white sand or black sand. I have both already from old tanks. I have one nano set up already with white sand. What color would you choose and why?

My current tank:

My old nano with black sand:

 

[DBrinson]

Aragonite, always and forever. :invisible

 

[Eric]

The only problem with black sand is it shows every piece of debris and what not that hits the bottom, I have tried it and it looks great to start but eventually looks like crap, if you like the look of the darker substrate I suggest doing a mixture to break it up.

 

[DaveK]

The color of the sand is a personal choice. I prefer the light colored aragonite sand. but I also say use the one you like.

 

[BigAl07]

I like em both! I plan to try a BLACK SAND tank sometime so I'm gonna so GO BLACK!!

 

[seafansar]

lol. Well my boyfriend wants to put in the black sand and see what it looks like. If we don't like it, we'll just siphon it out and put in white sand.

 

[BigAl07]

What BF wants... BF gets :LOL:

 

[DaveK]

A sandbed in a reef system is not something you want to change on a whim. Over time it actually becomes part of the filtration system, and should not be changed lightly. When you change out a sandbed, you create a lot of disruption in the system. This is not something you want to lightly do.

I recommend you choose the sand color you like and live with it.

If you feel you do need to try one color or another, initially use just enough sand to cover the bottom. Then you have little to remove and things will not be as bad, but it's still disruptive.

 

[Frankie]

White here. I never did like the light absorbing black sand. My daughter tried it in here nano and changed it later.
If I was going to seriously go black though it would have to be sand from that beach in Hawaii. Now that is some BLACK sand.

 

[DBrinson]

Already posted my vote, had some second thoughts. To me it isn't about the color, it's about the substrate used, and its value to the aquarium.

When I was in Hawaii's "Big Island" I visited a beach called "black sand beach" that was essentially covered in volcanic rock, aka pumice, ground up by erosion so finely it made a very comfortable "flooring".

That pumice is the same rock which makes up live rock from Fiji, if it were seeded it could conceivably add as much value to your tank as aragonite, especially if you already have a decent calcium reator or supplementation scheme going.

I'd love to see a tank sometime that uses "black sand" similar to the porous "sand" on that beach. It was quite attractive in its own right.


EDIT: Frankie beat me to it again hahaha.

 

[seafansar]

A sandbed in a reef system is not something you want to change on a whim. Over time it actually becomes part of the filtration system, and should not be changed lightly. When you change out a sandbed, you create a lot of disruption in the system. This is not something you want to lightly do.

I recommend you choose the sand color you like and live with it.

If you feel you do need to try one color or another, initially use just enough sand to cover the bottom. Then you have little to remove and things will not be as bad, but it's still disruptive.

I meant I will add the black sand now and if we don't like it immediately take it out (i.e. not after we have everything up and running). We just want to see what the sand will look like under our new lights. I'm afraid it will have a brown hue to it, but maybe it won't.

 

[seafansar]

What BF wants... BF gets :LOL:

Watch yourself Al!