16 replies to this topic

[nOOSE]

hi guys,

i'm about to set up a new tank up and i want to use black sand as my substrate? anyone know who stocks moon sand ere in perth?

nOOSE

[peddigree]

But the moons white ???? I think veba's have black sand pretty pricey ehhh

[chuckmeister]

I've just mixed some aragonite in with my black substrate. Black is not a good idea for a substrate IMO as it makes the fish hard to see and also washes the colour out of the fish. For example my leptosomas have lost their colour and look grey. Mind you I have a black background as well. The white has taken the edge off though its still a very dark tank. Considering what it cost me to do I dont think that the end result is worth it. Just my experience though!!!
You'll find that your lfs will more than likely have to specially order in black sand unless you want the black pebbles.
Good luck anyway

Charlie

[Anita ozfish]

black tahitian moon sand sounds rather exotic - a bit like that coffee commercial

electral@bigpond.com | web | Sydney, Australia.

[hlokk]

I saw 'black tahitian moon sand' made by 'carribean sands' featuring pictures of the moai of easter island. They arent even in the same ocean :s

Tahitian moon sand is probably just called that cause its odd (theres also a place in africa called the other side of the moon which has all these weird trees and plants and stuff). You can get stuff like onyx sand from aquaria.com.au but the stuff is damn pricey, as is with the stuff you get from fish shops.

Call one of those sand places and ask if they have any fine black sand. I'm pretty sure i've seen it around.

As for washing out the fish, it depends on the rest of your tank and what species you have. White generally reflects more light but this can be a good thing or a bad thing. It also depends what species you get, leleupi will go best with light sand (their colours muddy over darker sand), black calvus look stunning against black and some people like to keep occelatus (tangs not americans) with darker soil. For malawi cichlids, i'm not sure on the colour, but i think slightly varying grain size is best for the sand sifters (specially if u have fish that spawn on the substrate).

I got some black gravel (well, darkish grey) from city farmers but its still about $1 a kilo or something (or 50c or $2 i forget). The best place for large tanks is one of those 'sand places'.

[chuckmeister]

Ive got over a dozen calvus in my tank over the onyx sand and I found that you cant see the fish. There was just too much black. I've mixed in a little white and not only can I see my fish better but my calvus are showing better colour. Black fish on a black substrate looking better is a big falacy IMO. I've also had blue occies here and found white to be a better colour. I'm thinking that gold comps may look better on black..

This is a pic of the end of my 6*2*2 calvus tank. The white was just put in over the top of the black so isn't really mixed in. I've got no camera to update (... Maz)
calvus tank
Edit On second look the occies do look pretty good on black Edit

Edited by: chuckmeister at: 3/18/04 12:38 am

[eX024]

I think the occies look great on the black sand, from what I've heard its supposed to make most fish look great (only fish I've heard it doesn't go with is leleupi).

My tank has crushed coral substrate and I like the white clean look it gives, but it makes my black calvus look like crap:

[chuckmeister]

Hey eX024
Neither would I put mine on a straight white sand either My fish did not go any darker on black and did not lighten up noticeably when I mixed in white.
You want to give the little guy some time to develop some colour I do notice though that your fish has a bit of gold/yellow in its head,dorsal,anal, and tail fins. I would be asking to see the parents of these guys as mine and even my juvies have got NO yellow on them at all. I think that there is a certain amount of confusion about these fish, made about by the shops selling fish that have been crossed. People dont know what to look for. These fish are called black calvus because they are black calvus pic Sorry for the crap photo but seeing as I dont own a camera its the best I can do for the moment. This is a picture of one of my calvus boys in non breeding colours. Notice no barring on the back of the fish. Also you'll notice the head, no yellow and even the lighter colour lines on his head are grey. When he goes into breeding mode his whole head (and body for that matter) go the same colour as the dark black bands on his head/fins making him jet black. The girls are the same.
Anyway enough of my calvus rant...

Theres a supplier in Jandicot (?sp) somewhere that supplies sands/gravel to the shops. Something industries.... I'll re-edit my post when I remember or someone else can supply the name... I'm not sure about black though.

Charlie

[anchar]

Try Cook Industries or Imdex.

merjo

[phatoscarlover]

Hey chuck,
Ive got some young black clavus about 4cm at the momment so, very jelous of yours! And as for the albino dimi *dribbling* Cheers Andy

[Barca888]

Most of my tropicals look dull because mainly everything is black. My loaches do look very nice in it.

[eX024]

Yeh my calvus goes much darker if he swims next to a black rock, and when hes in his shells he looks just as dark as yours in that photo...

[nOOSE]

where can i find those industries?

[anchar]

Let your fingers do the walking.....

merjo

[Brett4Perth]

Cook Industrial Minerals

But I have never seen any black or even particularly dark sand there?

Cheers
Brett

[andrekweh]

Yeah the only color I know Cook Industrial Minerals has atm is brown or grey. Can be gotten from Atlantis at junction of stock and south st. Think they come in 20 kilo bags.

[me]

i got black gravel, looks alright but ya get sick of it.

Black substrate is a fad......