# white or black sand...



## IXOYE (Nov 10, 2013)

I love white rocks, thinking of getting white sand, for new tank;

Is black better, looks cleaner?... what other colors do they have? I'm calling around, but need to decide what I want- for a red and blue betta, maybe kuli loaches sometime, african dwarf frogs... what about a couple of clown loaches, they are so cute- wonder what the Betta would think of all this...

Need to ask what others think, before I take the "plunge" ...

Thank you for all opinions and responses. Right now it seems so stressful to get it started. It's not like I've never had fish before either, just never had sand before.... Thanks for helping me with the stress and decisions. It's going to be so worth it all, hoefully very soon! I'm way excited!!!!!:-?


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## Waking Buddha (Jan 3, 2014)

I had white sand and I thought it looked really pretty but it did discolor over time. If I get sand again I'll probably go with black just because I've seen some nice planted tanks with black substrate. Actual sand color is another option. You know the beige kind.


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## Kaynbred (Feb 16, 2014)

Definitely white sand, it would actually hide their dirt better. Plus, in my opinion, it looks better.


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## valen1014 (Jan 20, 2013)

I like white sand =) I think it looks better, and (depending on the fish, mine are all mostly dark) it gives good contrast. I also suspect it helps with lighting because it reflects it more. Tan color is also good, and maybe looks a little less artificial than paper white sand...


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## IXOYE (Nov 10, 2013)

Well, it all sounds good, I'm still confused. What about plants and sand, if I have plants, like I hope to... Is sand bad for plants/roots? Again, still very confused, and love all the help, ideas, suggestions... Thank you!


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## IXOYE (Nov 10, 2013)

Kaynbred said:


> Definitely white sand, it would actually hide their dirt better. Plus, in my opinion, it looks better.


White hides dirt better? I love the white!


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## Blue Fish (Jun 11, 2012)

No, sand is fine for plants.  If you're going to do sand, you might also want to consider going on ahead and doing a soil based tank underneath. 
Basically, this involves taking something like miracle grow organic potting soil, getting all the big chunks, mulch, rocks, leaves, sticks out of it, and putting about a 1 to 1 1/2 inch layer in the bottom of the tank. Then, you put another 1 1/2 to 2 inches of sand on top of that as the "cap". (to prevent mud)

This would give you the look of the sand, but it would also provide great nourishment for your plants. Best of both worlds!


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## Kaynbred (Feb 16, 2014)

IXOYE said:


> White hides dirt better? I love the white!


In my experience, white sand actually does hide fish dirt better!


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## IXOYE (Nov 10, 2013)

Blue Fish said:


> No, sand is fine for plants.  If you're going to do sand, you might also want to consider going on ahead and doing a soil based tank underneath.
> Basically, this involves taking something like miracle grow organic potting soil, getting all the big chunks, mulch, rocks, leaves, sticks out of it, and putting about a 1 to 1 1/2 inch layer in the bottom of the tank. Then, you put another 1 1/2 to 2 inches of sand on top of that as the "cap". (to prevent mud)
> 
> Sounds really great, but also, when planting in an established aquarium, a bit messy, no? Wish I could get tons of plants- and soil and sand- all right now! Wow- that would be so amazing!!!!
> ...


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## relaxedcrazyman (Dec 19, 2013)

hands down black sand. i LOVE it.

if you check out my tanks, i have black sand in my 10g at home and black gravel in my 2.5g at work.


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## haveyouhadyourteayet (Jan 14, 2014)

I know loaches get pretty large, and need largeish schools - so just be prepared for a bunch of inches of fish. 

I use white sand, it's easier to clean lol. It does get stained by the tannins I put in my water, but not too badly.


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## nclnchls (Mar 18, 2014)

I was really conflicted about black/white sand too! I just set up my first tank last week...and I really liked the look of both the black and the white. Eventually I chose white Petco sand, I just really love how bright it looks. Might try black later on down the road, though 

On the "Planted Tank Show & Tell" thread I saw someone use both! White on one side, black on the other, and it kinda blended in the middle...a yin/yang type thing. Looked pretty cool


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## haveyouhadyourteayet (Jan 14, 2014)

I layered the black and white sand... for about 3 days till I did a wc. *womp womp*


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## Blue Fish (Jun 11, 2012)

You actually don't have the mud and sand kick-up that you'd expect with the dirted/sandcap substrate, even when moving plants around.  I did my first one just recently, and was really surprised at how neat it stays even when I put in new plants. I get a little cloud right around the root base, but that dissipates in just a few minutes and I'm back to clear.  

Just a note about the dirted kick-up. Whatever you are interested in will work, no pressure, lol!  If you use just sand, you'll probably need to do some root tabs for crypts and things that root feed, but that's not hard. Just break of a piece of the sticks and shove them down deep under the plant.  And most stem plants feed off the water column anyway, so those you don't have to worry about.


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## Sathori (Jul 7, 2013)

I love my black sand. You can easily see the poop and left over food on it and clean it up right away. It also makes my fish stand out a bit more (I have neons and albino corydoras) I love watching the albinos sift through the black sand and I can see them devour their food.


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## seaturtle (Mar 27, 2014)

Sand with root tabs


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## mart (Dec 18, 2013)

Another vote for black sand. Although my vote is for the CaribSea Tahitian Moon.


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## NozzALa (Apr 10, 2013)

I've had both, though only in the Petco brand, and I personally prefer black. It looks pretty sharp.

Plus the white would actually get tinged by algae. Black doesn't have that problem.


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## IXOYE (Nov 10, 2013)

Thanks, to all! I'm still trying to figure it out. Got Petco black, may return- it looks like fake sand, it's not smooth. Can ADfrogs handle this ok? I apologize if I've already posted this here, I know- I'm "all over the place"- Thanks to everyone, love the suggestions and ideas- extrememly very much! THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!!! Still haven't figured it out yet, but I will... And then- it will be about the filtering- and what to put on the back-outside- for pretty.... Thanks for all the help to get me through this! Such an amazing community, I love it!


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## BlueLacee (Dec 8, 2013)

white sand hides their waste, but you might want the white rocks to stand out more and it colors over time. Black would make the rocks pop however. Depending on what color betta you end up with, either black or white or even a different color will look better to you. If you are going for natural, I would use white sand


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## jaysee (Dec 9, 2009)

You could mix the black and white sand, like 2/3 white 1/3 black. I think if there's more black than white that the white would get swallowed up.


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## IXOYE (Nov 10, 2013)

YES, I am considering this idea. Wish I could see what it looks like now, though. I shall google and see what I find, if anything...


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## jaysee (Dec 9, 2009)

I've got a mixed tank and my girlfriend has a couple - we both like them.

Here's mine.


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## Agent13 (Apr 23, 2013)

Yes , I like the mixed look. My favorite is more like 10% black 90% white.













My sons tank here is about 1/3 black sand 
















Sent from Petguide.com App


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## jaysee (Dec 9, 2009)

This one is 50/50


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## IXOYE (Nov 10, 2013)

WOW, very nice tanks/pics! Love that, and really helps me see, I love it!

So, a local independent fs has beige, soft pckgd real sand, I love it, it's just more money. I may go back for that though! 

So, I'm getting there! Thanks for all the help! I haven't been able to see many people with exp with Petco sand and ADF or loaches...yet... To completely convince me about the cheaper Petco sand, 

So, we'll see. Taking my time to be sure....:roll:


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## jaysee (Dec 9, 2009)

Yeah I saw you mention clown loaches earlier. What size tank is this?


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## Sathori (Jul 7, 2013)

I bought my sand from Petland. The brand is Aqua Terra. I find the sand to be very smooth and my corydoras love it. It was about $5-7CND for a 5 pound bag. my first tank has 15lbs of sand in it, my second tank has 10lbs of sand.

This is my first tank:








This is my second 10 gallon that I have set up and waiting for when my supplier has more pygmy corydoras in stock (habrosus corydoras). Fingers crossed for next week!


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## IXOYE (Nov 10, 2013)

jaysee said:


> Yeah I saw you mention clown loaches earlier. What size tank is this?


This is for a 20 Long; I also have 100 gal tank; but realize Clowns are a bad idea with my Betta, in the 20. So.....

Funny story, I was reading about clown loaches with bettas, and with frogs. Hubby asked me what I was reading, I told him about the clowns- and that was the last straw because he is tired of me obsessing over fish. He reminded me (yeah, I tend to remember only what I want to), that when we went to upgrade the Larry Guerry Betta- from 5 to a 10, and walked out with a 20L due to huge sale; that we were ONLY upgrading the Betta. No more extra fish. Wow- seems a shame all that space for one fish- that I am obsessing substrate for a future project.... so now, I'm only concentrating on the one Betta- and with the white rocks I already have, and some real and some plastic plants, for now. Oh and figuring out my filtering. I have a Tetra Whisper 10i coming, I already have a TOM mini (for up to 6 gal it says), thinking about doing these two filters, for now. I tried something similar in a smaller tank, it freaked him out- with too much vibration. I'm hoping that I can fix that for the bigger tank, for now- and do a sponge filter, instead, later or soon....

Ha, I'm back to sorting my "older, have on hand" white rocks. Looks like I have plenty- I wasn't sure- and taking out all the "odd mutted grays and such" out. And Larry G will have to get used to lots of (scary) space all by himself. I'll still enjoy watching him calm down and explore, explore- hide, and explore some more. It's all good.... and MUCH LESS STRESSFUL- to think about "what if do it this way" or "that way" - or whatever - I can concentrate to the "task at hand", getting L G's tank up and running, very soon! OH- I need to ask people, for 20L, how long do I let that run- 2 days- more days.... Just to be sure....


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## jaysee (Dec 9, 2009)

For some things it can be easier to get forgiveness than permission ;-)

You could always divide the 20. Put white sand on one side and black on the other. There's a lot to work with there I think.


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## IXOYE (Nov 10, 2013)

jaysee said:


> For some things it can be easier to get forgiveness than permission ;-)
> 
> You could always divide the 20. Put white sand on one side and black on the other. There's a lot to work with there I think.


Well, I get what you are saying, but....not in this case. I know that later on, it won't be a big deal to change things around, get more fish- when we both see how empty that tank is going to seem! So, I can wait patiently. I'm just glad for what I have today! It's not a big deal.


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## FirstBetta (Jun 14, 2013)

First, substrate choice is an intense personal preference choice. I started with fine gravel in a beige combination. I have since decided that I prefer sand after using a tan sand I found on Amazon. 

I'm in the process of setting up an NPT using pool filter sand as the cap. I also have a 20# bag of tan aquarium sand sitting in the patio storage bin in case I want to go that way. I also may mix the pool sand and the tan sand however the mood strikes me when I doing it.

The bottom line (unintended pun) is whatever floats your boat is whatever yo feel like using.


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