Dark sand...which would be best

Hi! I'm changing the bottom of a large tank before I put my Japanese fire-bellies in.
I've decided it will be sand. I would like a dark or black type.
I can't decide between these options- please help if you have any experience with these products or can tell what's good from the description:

Flourite Black Sand from Seachem
Seachem. Flourite Black Sand

or a layer of Tetraplant Complete Substrate topped with either:
- Unipac Limpopo Sand (grain size of approx 1mm)
http://www.aquaessentials.co.uk/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=2828


or Caribsea Tahitian Moon Sand (0.1-0.3mm)
CaribSea Super Naturals | Marine Sand | Tahitian Moon | Torpedo Beach | Rio Grand | Amazon | Ramblin Rose | Kon Tiki | Zebra | Peace River

Thanks a lot for your help, I'm really stuck.

evut said:

Hi! I'm changing the bottom of a large tank before I put my Japanese fire-bellies in.
I've decided it will be sand. I would like a dark or black type.
I can't decide between these options- please help if you have any experience with these products or can tell what's good from the description:

Flourite Black Sand from Seachem
Seachem. Flourite Black Sand

or a layer of Tetraplant Complete Substrate topped with either:
- Unipac Limpopo Sand (grain size of approx 1mm)
http://www.aquaessentials.co.uk/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=2828


or Caribsea Tahitian Moon Sand (0.1-0.3mm)
CaribSea Super Naturals | Marine Sand | Tahitian Moon | Torpedo Beach | Rio Grand | Amazon | Ramblin Rose | Kon Tiki | Zebra | Peace River

Thanks a lot for your help, I'm really stuck.

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I would go with the Unipac if it passes the acid test. (Place a few drops of pH down on a sample, if it fizzes do not use it.) The CaribSea and SeaChem are not suitable in my opinion.

CaribSea uses Aragonite sand in almost all of their products.

But I will add here that it depends on what species you are keeping with it as to which of the other two brands is more suitable. You can read more about Aquatic Substrates here.

SludgeMunkey said:

The CaribSea and SeaChem are not suitable in my opinion.

Click to expand...

Out of curiosity, why do you believe they are not suitable?

I cannot speak of SeaChem, but CaribSea sand will alter water chemistry, causing profound changes to pH and alkalinity, which can be deadly to an axolotl.

I am assuming SeaChem is unsuitable for similar reasons.

I have tried CaribSea's Tahitian Moon Sand. And though it says it is safe for freshwater aquarium use, it is not. I speak from personal experience.

Cheers.

Greewok said:

Out of curiosity, why do you believe they are not suitable?

Click to expand...

It is less a belief and more a result of way too much resarch on the subject.

Flourite sand is a sedimentary rock product comprised of primarily calcium carbonate and iron oxide. It can lead to caudate unfriendly water conditions including but not limited to pH shifts, extreme water hardness, and algae blooms resulting in low dissolved oxygen.There is also a risk of digestive impaction with this product. (SeaChem does sell sands that are perfectly suitable to use, but Flourite is not one of them.)

CaribSea primarily uses aragonite sand, which is a marine product. Aragonite is coral that has passed through the digestive system of parrot fish. It is pure calcium carbonate which will adversely affect both hardness and pH.

Again, I will state that those two products are ideal for a very few select species of caudates that require hard water. However, the resulting increase in hardness increases over time, there by making TDS, pH, dissolved oxygen and total hardness very unstable.

Thanks a lot, I couldn't find much information about the substrates apart from what the manufacturers say so I really appreciate you input.