# white or black sand



## Trystan (Jan 2, 2006)

I am trying to decide if I want white or black sand in my new tank. I was wondering if you guys could post pics of your tanks???

Trystan


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## "qickshot" (Apr 19, 2005)

it depends what its for

compressus, white to black
rbp tan to black

personaly i like black for most piranhas except like spilos and macs


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## mr_b401 (Jul 6, 2005)

I'll tell ya this much...It can be a reaaal pain in the ass to keep white sand clean...especially w/ pygos...I've had it before. Actually it was an off-white/cream...same thing pretty much.


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## Trystan (Jan 2, 2006)

Thank you.


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## Oscar5001 (Sep 22, 2005)

I like the black better, but it will cost you a lot more. If you want a white-ish sand you can get playsand at Home Depot or pool filter sand. Still looks pretty good and much cheaper.


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## Mettle (Dec 29, 2003)

I'd say go for the black. It won't "dirty" like the white will and it'll look a ton better.


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## bmpower007 (Feb 11, 2005)

I love white sand, looks nice and clean, cleaning I just vacum stirr the surface, Both black and white looks great


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## assclown (Dec 12, 2005)

bmpower007 said:


> I love white sand, looks nice and clean, cleaning I just vacum stirr the surface, Both black and white looks great










I have pool sand, stir with vacuum and its good to go


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## assclown (Dec 12, 2005)

got a pic for you


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## Trystan (Jan 2, 2006)

That is some really nice sand. How hard is it to maintain? How often do you vac it?

By the way nice shoal of P's.


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## assclown (Dec 12, 2005)

Thank you very much, i vacuum every other day or so.........depends on how much they poop......









I cant wait to see yours when you are done!!!!!!


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## Trystan (Jan 2, 2006)

That's not that bad I was thinking that with white i might have to be doing it every day. If every thing goes right it will be up in about two or three weeks.


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## assclown (Dec 12, 2005)

Great!!!!!!!!!!

the prep wasnt too bad, rinse and toss into the tank, i used a pillow case.
the P,s stir up the sand, goes right back down.........no mess, i love it

and its $5.00 a 50 lb bag too..........comes clean
you can find it at a masonary store


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## Trystan (Jan 2, 2006)

Cool thanx man. Still haven't made the decision yet but any info is appreciated. I think that the contrast with the stand and tank would be pretty cool with the white though. Starting to lean that way. How long did it take for your P's to get used to the light substrate??? I have kept mine over black gravel for thier whole lives. So the swich is going to be rocky I'd imagine.


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## assclown (Dec 12, 2005)

yeah, it took some time, like a half week or so..........i have a 2 light system and had to pull 1 bulb, they are ok now.

god, get white sand, moonlights like ive got........like cartman says "KICK ASS"
dude, chick (i dont know which one, sorry) that set up would rock........









now im wishing i had a black set up........







.........


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## Trystan (Jan 2, 2006)

Where would be the best place to get the moonlights from??? Cost??? Do you have pics???


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## assclown (Dec 12, 2005)

yeah 1 sec, i got mine on ebay..........hold 1 sec

hers a link to ebay, make sure you buy them from glauster MA
thats where i got mine and they are stand up people!!!!!!

http://cgi.ebay.com/NEW-5-LED-AQUARIUM-MOO...1QQcmdZViewItem


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## Trystan (Jan 2, 2006)

Thanx for the link. That would like right wild over white sand. Do they ship to Canada though???


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## assclown (Dec 12, 2005)

dont see why not........the moneys right and still green........LOL
just have to use paypal (they suck)


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## Trystan (Jan 2, 2006)

Cool. Thanx I will see what happens. It is a while away yet but it is a real option.


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## DiXoN (Jan 31, 2003)

here is my tank with white sand


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## assclown (Dec 12, 2005)

DiXoN said:


> here is my tank with white sand


droooooooooollllllllllllll................


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## Trystan (Jan 2, 2006)

That is a really nice look for your tank, and a beautiful arowana.


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## Mettle (Dec 29, 2003)

DiXoN said:


> here is my tank with white sand












Way too eye-piercingly bright for me.


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## DiXoN (Jan 31, 2003)

Mettle said:


> here is my tank with white sand












Way too eye-piercingly bright for me.
[/quote]

thats a lot down to the camera used it makes it look overly bright.
the sand is actually a very light beige and good for seing crap


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## bentley (Nov 16, 2005)

ive used playpit sand and sprinkled it with black glass, looks cool








View attachment 89586


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## Dr. Giggles (Oct 18, 2003)

I like sand. Doesn't matter to me. Here is a shot of a 50G w/ black sand and a 40G w/ white.

View attachment 89785


View attachment 89784


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## MR.FREEZ (Jan 26, 2004)

what kinda fish is it for? most fish i like black or darker

substrate cause it bring out the colors in my opinion.

but some fish look stunning with white sand

plus the way the rest of the tank is set up makes a =

difference also i says, the back ground lite or dark with a contrasting

substrate and drift wood or plants


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## Trystan (Jan 2, 2006)

This is the set up. Black on black. It is for my RBP's.

View attachment 89825


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## PiranhaStein (Dec 30, 2005)

Where would the best Place to find Black Sand at the cheapest cost. I have a 30 gallon and am about to revamp the whole tank. Big Als, Petsmart, aquascape i'll do my own research once i return to school. But i'm guessing someone else has already gone through many sites in a search of the cheapest black sand for there tank.


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## Trystan (Jan 2, 2006)

I have not researched out the cheapest black sand yet. Will do it in the future as I have decided to go with a silica sand for my tank.

Trystan

But you are right I am sure that some one has already done this.


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## PiranhaStein (Dec 30, 2005)

http://store.seacorals.net/esaqsablaqsu3.html

This seems like a great deal it would be nice to see if anyone else has purchased or knows anything about this.

Looks good, I might not need the hole bag. How much would u think to have 1-1 1/2 " of bottom coverage on a 30 gallon tank?


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## assclown (Dec 12, 2005)

PiranhaStein said:


> http://store.seacorals.net/esaqsablaqsu3.html
> 
> This seems like a great deal it would be nice to see if anyone else has purchased or knows anything about this.
> 
> Looks good, I might not need the hole bag. How much would u think to have 1-1 1/2 " of bottom coverage on a 30 gallon tank?


There you trystan..........








Rock on brother.............i would go with white sand........IMO..........lol


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## Trystan (Jan 2, 2006)

You will likely need the whole 30 lbs.

I ended up going with a silica sand but it is not as white as I had hoped. It is still nice sand and it suits the tank as well so I am happy.

Trystan


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## assclown (Dec 12, 2005)

Glad to hear it BRA..............cheers, remember to post some pics when done!


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## Trystan (Jan 2, 2006)

Here are some pics of the new sand.

View attachment 89898


View attachment 89899


View attachment 89900


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## assclown (Dec 12, 2005)

Good god, that looks great..........now im really jelious............


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## Trystan (Jan 2, 2006)

Thanx man. Good to hear. The washing took forever but it is worth it in the end. Considering the entire 150 lbs of silica cost me a grand total of $5. lol.

Trystan


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## PiranhaStein (Dec 30, 2005)

Can't wait to see it filled, It might sway me but for my red's i'm stilly probably going with the black, i can't believe how fast u guys responded, i spent last 30 mins on Youtube, some crazy sh*t there.


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## Trystan (Jan 2, 2006)

Half full.

View attachment 89901


View attachment 89902


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## assclown (Dec 12, 2005)

I would have never thought of a plate..........Good frigging idea!!!!


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## Trystan (Jan 2, 2006)

Yeah it works great. Been doing it that way for years even with gravel if filling from empty.


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## PiranhaStein (Dec 30, 2005)

Hell yeah the plate is a great idea, will be stolen. Tank looken good, what plants if any you planning on putting in there? I would like to put a couple in myself but with low lite and was wondering if there's any thing special about putting plants in sand tank.


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## Trystan (Jan 2, 2006)

3/4 full. Can you tell I am excited??? lol.

View attachment 89903


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## Trystan (Jan 2, 2006)

Full

View attachment 89904


Good shot of the sand

View attachment 89905


My P's looking all excited.









View attachment 89906


Trystan


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## Trystan (Jan 2, 2006)

PiranhaStein said:


> Hell yeah the plate is a great idea, will be stolen. Tank looken good, what plants if any you planning on putting in there? I would like to put a couple in myself but with low lite and was wondering if there's any thing special about putting plants in sand tank.


I am planning on putting some amazon swords, some tall grasses, and some chain swords as well as rocks, and drift wood. Most of the plants are going to have to wait until I build my new canopy with more lighting. Right now I am only running 2x40W flouresents. need to bump that up to about 200W or so.

To answer your question PiranhaStein you will need to have some kind of sand rooting fish ie rafeal cat or something of the sort or else the sand will get to compressed for the root systems.

Trystan


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## PiranhaStein (Dec 30, 2005)

Your p's do look stokd. They will enjoy there new setup. Do u have a bubble strip in the back and what plants you putting in there.


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## Trystan (Jan 2, 2006)

No bubble strip. I am going to have enough surface aggitation running the three filters(2 tetratec 500's and a emperor 400) and the power head. As for the plants look up. lol.

Trystan


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## PiranhaStein (Dec 30, 2005)

Your post wasn't there when i posted, thanks for the info, I was just about to buy a emperor 400 for my 30 gal, a lot of people have them, so i'm guessing it's a good buy. Rather not get the aqua clear because i like the idea of the bio wheels. I'll check out the local pet store for the rafeal cat.

Congrats on the new setup very cool and looking forward to more pics


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## Trystan (Jan 2, 2006)

More pics will be up soon.

Trystan


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## Trystan (Jan 2, 2006)

12 hours and almost clear. I guess the 5 hours of sand washing was worth it. lol. Of course it was. Sand looks amazing.

Trystan


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## MR.FREEZ (Jan 26, 2004)

i like the black back on white substrate

it looks really good too with some nice driftwood and

a few nice green plants


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## Trystan (Jan 2, 2006)

Yeah I am going out today to try and find some nice pieces of driftwood and some nice looking fake plants(for the moment). I will try and have pics of it up tonight if I can find every thing that I need. Crossing fingers. Selection here is a little sketchy here, and expensive as hell as well. But here's hoping.

Trystan


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## DiXoN (Jan 31, 2003)

i looks really good


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## assclown (Dec 12, 2005)

FRIGGING.............KICKASS BRA.............


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## Trystan (Jan 2, 2006)

As promised. Here are the pics of the tank with driftwood and plants.

View attachment 90154


View attachment 90155


A pic of the new clean up crew/cycling fish.

View attachment 90156


Still going to be adding rock piles as well.

Trystan


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## assclown (Dec 12, 2005)

How in the hell do you get to keep ypur Cats???????
Mine killed one of mine and i had to put them into my Cichlid tank........


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## Trystan (Jan 2, 2006)

Mine seem to be pretty tolerant of tank mates for the moment. lol.

Trystan


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## assclown (Dec 12, 2005)

I added my Cats back last night because i sold 9 of my P's
Wish me the best, i hate loosing fish..........


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## Trystan (Jan 2, 2006)

Best of luck with the cats. We all hate to lose fish but if we are going to keep P's we all stand that risk. lol.

Trystan


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## mattd390 (Dec 5, 2005)

trystan said:


> Best of luck with the cats. We all hate to lose fish but if we are going to keep P's we all stand that risk. lol.
> 
> Trystan


Sweet setup man... i am working on mine too, just added sand, and was wondering what type of cats those were. They stir up the sand good right? I did the plants too, not bad for plastic (guess from a previous post).


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## Trystan (Jan 2, 2006)

The cats are Rafael cats and yes they do a good job of stiring the sand. The plants are silk from sea garden. They are costly but they look almost real, well as real as fake plants get I guess. lol. They will do untill I build my new canopy with proper light. You should post some pics of your new set up man. Looking forward to seeing it since we were both working on ours at the same time.

Trystan


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## myfishatemydog (Nov 16, 2005)

i say white becuase the color black is frowned upon among the society of fishes... lol im just kidding/ and drunk.


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## Trystan (Jan 2, 2006)

Lol. Nice.


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## canuckchris (Jan 7, 2006)

well im glad your tank is working out it looks AMAZING wish i had room for a setup like that (very jealous ). I'm glad that is a rafael cat cause it looked like a redtail and i was gonna warn you that redtail get to be 4-5 feet long and are extremely agressive. Sweet setup tho...great pics as well


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