# black substrate



## kurb (Dec 8, 2008)

I'm looking for a substrate to put in my new tank and I really want to get black to bring out the colors in my fish. Problem is I dont want to use sand because A i dont want it in my filters B i dont want a sandstorm whenever my fish get a little wild, which they do









So my question is there a larger sized black substrate that isnt as fine as the tahitian moon black sand, but not as large as standard wal-mart aquarium substrate.

and what is your experience with it, if any


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## Guest (Feb 7, 2009)

You just need to look around. Different companies make different sized stones. The substrate I got from Big Als is a very small black pebble, I also had my concerns with sand. You could try Flourite, its meant for planted aquariums but it is very small irregular sized almost stone chips. Good Luck with the search


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## Piranha_man (Jan 29, 2005)

Whatever you do, don't get that sh*t that's coated with black... it ends up chipping... revealing the white center- looks like sh*t after awhile.

I know you don't wanna use sand... but ever since I switched one of my tanks over to Tahitian Moon Black Sand... I switched them all and never went back.
I've never gotten a single grain in any of my filters.


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## kurb (Dec 8, 2008)

Piranha_man said:


> Whatever you do, don't get that sh*t that's coated with black... it ends up chipping... revealing the white center- looks like sh*t after awhile.
> 
> I know you don't wanna use sand... but ever since I switched one of my tanks over to Tahitian Moon Black Sand... I switched them all and never went back.
> I've never gotten a single grain in any of my filters.


you dont get a dust-bowl when your fish rip around all nuts? thats what i dont want. im suprised that you dont get any in your filters. i suppose i could give it a try, it really looks GOOD, but i was just concerned about those things. also the price is expensive for me seeing as id have to ship it because i dont have a local fish store and its 15+14 shipping per 20lb bag on ebay


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## AKSkirmish (Jun 24, 2005)

P_man is right here-

I also run the tahitian moon sand-Never a problem-Never had one piece of sand in any of my filters since I have switched it over to this....Alot has to due with intake placement as well though.....


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## Trigga (Jul 1, 2006)

Yup i use tahitian moon sand as well. Looks great in any tank and makes the fishes colour pop.

If your dont want to use sand though there are some nice black gravels. Just make sure its not painted like Pman said.


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## kurb (Dec 8, 2008)

How about when using vac does alot get sucked up? I have a standard suction grav vac


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## AKSkirmish (Jun 24, 2005)

kurb said:


> How about when using vac does alot get sucked up? I have a standard suction grav vac


Vac at angle to reduce sand loss.......


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## Trigga (Jul 1, 2006)

kurb said:


> How about when using vac does alot get sucked up? I have a standard suction grav vac


if you use a python its actually quite simple cause the sand is pretty heavy. All you do if you get some in the tube is turn the switch and the sand will drop down to the bottom of the tank and the dirt will keep floating and then turn the switch back and continue.


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## Piranha_man (Jan 29, 2005)

Trigga said:


> How about when using vac does alot get sucked up? I have a standard suction grav vac


if you use a python its actually quite simple cause the sand is pretty heavy. All you do if you get some in the tube is turn the switch and the sand will drop down to the bottom of the tank and the dirt will keep floating and then turn the switch back and continue.
[/quote]

Yeah, the sand is heavier than you may think.

And if you've seen any of my feeding videos... you know that my pygos can really tear it up at feeding time... still, the sand stays pretty static.


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## SeedlessOne (Nov 21, 2006)

or you can use colorquartz. Wont vaccuum up and doesnt stir up like sand. Sand sucks ass....


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## pbucch (Nov 18, 2008)

get that 3m colorquartz, I saw someone post a link in the plant section of pfury, something like 30 bucks a bucket shipped to your door, I dont care if its a million bucks, black substrate is worth it. I yearn for it honestly. Who cares if your filter sucks it up, put the intake in a corner and give it 4 inches. well worth the risk imho.


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## Yanfloist (Oct 1, 2007)

i use Black Beauty substrate. works really well, and is not as bad a black sand.


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## SeedlessOne (Nov 21, 2006)

pbucch said:


> get that 3m colorquartz, I saw someone post a link in the plant section of pfury, something like 30 bucks a bucket shipped to your door, I dont care if its a million bucks, black substrate is worth it. I yearn for it honestly. Who cares if your filter sucks it up, put the intake in a corner and give it 4 inches. well worth the risk imho.


That was my tank...http://www.piranha-fury.com/pfury/index.php?showtopic=179198&st=0


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## kurb (Dec 8, 2008)

Can the black beauty sand cause changes in your water params? I read about it before and it said something about it not being inert because it contains iron


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## kurb (Dec 8, 2008)

id really like a 50lb bag of that 3m in black, t-grade. but alas i am in upper michigan and there are no dealers anywhere within hundreds and hundreds of miles. and the shipping would not be worth it


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## SeedlessOne (Nov 21, 2006)

Its only 36bucks to you door. That not bad for some bad ass substrate that you will love.


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## kurb (Dec 8, 2008)

SeedlessOne said:


> Its only 36bucks to you door. That not bad for some bad ass substrate that you will love.


36 bucks for how many lbs? i need 50+lbs, no way possible to get 50 lbs shipped that cheap, for ups to ship something thats 50lbs it would cost almost 50 dollars!


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## pbucch (Nov 18, 2008)

Go here, call them, whatever,

http://www.ramrfq.com/

thats the link from seedless' thread, thank him.

seedless, shoot me a pm about how to use hte cooking oil for hte background...


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## SeedlessOne (Nov 21, 2006)

where did you pull that number from?? Hell I had 400lb engine shipped to me for like 175bucks. The price I quoted is for a 50lb bag. I needed 3 bags. 36bucks per 50lb bag shipped to your door in a 5g bucket.


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## kurb (Dec 8, 2008)

ok im going to check on it, if it is what you say it is you just made me a happy man. do you think i could get by with 50lbs of it in a 65 gal tank? probably if i have some driftwood and rocks in there too hey


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## SeedlessOne (Nov 21, 2006)

I would go with 2 bags if I were you.


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## Knifeman (Feb 3, 2003)

I'd like to know three things about this Colorquartz before I order some. First off, is it likely to get sucked up into my Fluval canister if a really big piranha starts acting crazy during a water vacuum? Second, if I go with the coarser grade (the "T" grade instead of the "S" grade) product, will the larger stuff lessen this chance? And last, does anyone know if the "T" grade still looks as much like sand as the "S" grade does? I know it's slightly bigger and coarser, but I'm looking for a sand look. I'm hoping it still looks like sand, only somewhat bigger sand. It's tuff to tell by looking at photos of the stuff on the internet.


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## Dr. Giggles (Oct 18, 2003)

moving this to tank and equipment


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## SeedlessOne (Nov 21, 2006)

Knifeman said:


> I'd like to know three things about this Colorquartz before I order some. First off, is it likely to get sucked up into my Fluval canister if a really big piranha starts acting crazy during a water vacuum? Second, if I go with the coarser grade (the "T" grade instead of the "S" grade) product, will the larger stuff lessen this chance? And last, does anyone know if the "T" grade still looks as much like sand as the "S" grade does? I know it's slightly bigger and coarser, but I'm looking for a sand look. I'm hoping it still looks like sand, only somewhat bigger sand. It's tuff to tell by looking at photos of the stuff on the internet.


No it wont get sucked up...The Tgrade is the way to go. Its not much bigger than sand and does not stir up at all.....
http://www.vbpstore.com/50-lb-bag-of-3m-color-quartz.html 
Free shipping.....


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## kurb (Dec 8, 2008)

SeedlessOne said:


> I'd like to know three things about this Colorquartz before I order some. First off, is it likely to get sucked up into my Fluval canister if a really big piranha starts acting crazy during a water vacuum? Second, if I go with the coarser grade (the "T" grade instead of the "S" grade) product, will the larger stuff lessen this chance? And last, does anyone know if the "T" grade still looks as much like sand as the "S" grade does? I know it's slightly bigger and coarser, but I'm looking for a sand look. I'm hoping it still looks like sand, only somewhat bigger sand. It's tuff to tell by looking at photos of the stuff on the internet.


No it wont get sucked up...The Tgrade is the way to go. Its not much bigger than sand and does not stir up at all.....
http://www.vbpstore.com/50-lb-bag-of-3m-color-quartz.html 
Free shipping.....
[/quote]

that link is for S size not T, and they dont seem to have T on that site


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## SeedlessOne (Nov 21, 2006)

call them....I was told they have tgrade as well but its not listed on the site.


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## SeedlessOne (Nov 21, 2006)

And here is a pic I just snapped to show the size of Grade "T".









And like I said this stuff doesnt get kicked up (even with my 13 pygos) and will not vaccuum up.


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## Smoogle (Jan 8, 2009)

wait so that site ships your the 50lb bag for free? Sounds like I'm about to spend some money


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## SeedlessOne (Nov 21, 2006)

Yeah they ship your 50lb bag in a 5g bucket for free. Kinda almost to good to be true. They actually used to be a tad bit cheaper.


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## Smoogle (Jan 8, 2009)

Amazing, as soon as I get 38 bucks its gonna be gone


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## kurb (Dec 8, 2008)

im buying 2 pronto


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## Piranha Madness (Feb 23, 2008)

Me Too, looking to set up #2 135 gallon tanks but didn't want to spend more for sand than I did for the tanks







Thanks Seedless


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