Question: Suitability of Tahitian Moon Sand

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blackdog

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Hi guys,

I have bought some Tahitian moon sand to use in a new tank i'm setting up in about a week.

Tonight, a fellow axie enthusiast told me they thought Tahitian moo was unsuitable for axies.

First thing i did was search the forums, but frankly i'm getting mixed messages.

Some seem to say it's fine, and they are using it. Others say it is unsuitable for axies.

It's expensive stuff, so i don't want to have to get rid of it ebay :) , but the most important thing of course is the axies well being.

So - what are your thoughts on Tahitian Moon sand?

Have you used it?
ANy issues?
If you wouldn't use it, why not?
Are there ingredients or something i could be looking for on the packaging that will tell me ingredients that might harm the axies?

Please fire away with your opinions.

Thanks!
Bren
 
As far as im aware alot of people seem to use it on here, very popular! But ive always wondered why? Its sooooo expensive! Im sure my big bag of pure white sand was only £5.99 from my local fish shop its filled a 40gal and a 15gal and still have some left!
 
blackdog said:
Hi guys,

I have bought some Tahitian moon sand to use in a new tank i'm setting up in about a week.

Tonight, a fellow axie enthusiast told me they thought Tahitian moo was unsuitable for axies.

First thing i did was search the forums, but frankly i'm getting mixed messages.

Some seem to say it's fine, and they are using it. Others say it is unsuitable for axies.

It's expensive stuff, so i don't want to have to get rid of it ebay :) , but the most important thing of course is the axies well being.

So - what are your thoughts on Tahitian Moon sand?

Have you used it?
ANy issues?
If you wouldn't use it, why not?
Are there ingredients or something i could be looking for on the packaging that will tell me ingredients that might harm the axies?

Please fire away with your opinions.

Thanks!
Bren
Click to expand...

That sand in totally fine.

I'm curious to know why it was " not recommended " by your friend.

What was his objections to it?
 
@Jay - It was because it was cora based, therefore messes with the Ph, hardness, and alkalinity etc

As for the rest, the Carib sea brand etc mentioned in the thread above is the exact same stuff i purchased - whew!

Thanks guys - i dont have to ebay the sand :)

bren
 
Hey there! I'm actually a user of this sand haha! I thought play sand was still kind of rough so I just went and got the Tahitian Moon Sand and you're right, they are fine sand! Um, to answer your questions:

What are your thoughts on Tahitian Moon sand? GREAT!!! It doesn't clog your filters, well, mine anyways.

Have you used it? Yup.

ANy issues? Nope.

If you wouldn't use it, why not? N/A

Are there ingredients or something i could be looking for on the packaging that will tell me ingredients that might harm the axies? I don't know any ingredients, maybe someone can tell you this, but I've used the sand for a long time now and it doesn't seem to harm the axies. I guess the only thing you need to do is to stir the sand once in a while so that it doesn't release a bad smelling odor as I was told.

Hope that helps, good luck! :)
 
blackdog said:
@Jay - It was because it was cora based, therefore messes with the Ph, hardness, and alkalinity etc

As for the rest, the Carib sea brand etc mentioned in the thread above is the exact same stuff i purchased - whew!

Thanks guys - i dont have to ebay the sand :)

bren
Click to expand...


I never heard of that. I knew some brands use volcanic stuff for black which is really crushed volcanic rock like the beaches of Hawaii. But the only problem I seen with that was phosphate.
 
I use the CaribSea black, have no PH issues and my Axie appears to love it.

It also carries far less dust and silt than regular sand and to me is less misty than my other tank with generic yellow sand.
 
Thanks for the latest replies guys.

I was on holidays for the past week, just checked this post for any last minute additions :)

Tomorrow is the new tank day, let it settle and put the boys into the new home on saturday

Looks like im going with the sand :)

Ta
Bren
 
Thats cool. You will like it a lot.

Just make sure you soak the sand in a bucket of water first for a few days. It does not need to be washed really and with this sand it only breaks it up more from the agitation. It does help to lightly rinse it once or twice before you let it sit though. The bag gets tossed around before it sells which can cause the finer sand to break down into dust.
 
I actually use both, regular sand in one tank and Tahitian Black in another.

Regular sand will also be lighter than the Tahitian as it's less course and so will float more when disturbed but will soon settle.

You'll really need to make sure you rinse it well. 1/2 hour to a full hour for a 5lb bag. Just cut the corner off, stick a hose pipe in, leave in the bath overflowing.

The best thing about regular sand is that you can track your little critter as all the footprints are left behind, showing any dead spots in the tank.
 
Sweet, i rinsed it already this morning. New tank is rinsed. Just waiting on the new lounge furniture to be delivered and i can set up the tank!

Hopefully it settles enough i can put the boys in tonight, but tomorrow if not.

They are at the "axie sitters" (lady who sold them to me looked after them while i was gone)

I have a canister filter fully cycled ready to go, and i will be using a lot of the same plants and tank furniture so hopefully the cycle doesn't crash, not a big deal to cycle again, just a pain in the butt testing everday etc .

thanks for the advice people
 
ted22 said:
As far as im aware alot of people seem to use it on here, very popular! But ive always wondered why? Its sooooo expensive! Im sure my big bag of pure white sand was only £5.99 from my local fish shop its filled a 40gal and a 15gal and still have some left!
Click to expand...

sorry to hijack but doesnt pure white sand look... well... poopy after a while? I cant imagine keeping it looking beautifully white with Juan and Axie
(axie is my sisters axie here on holiday due to the fact he stopped eating worms and only ate blood worm - i'm proud to say he ate worms 2 days on the trot!! He is also 1000000 times messier than Juan with bloodworms)
 
Set the new tank up.

Sand seems fine, i have to say it is very very good for settling, There was virtually no cloudiness after the initial set up, and if it gets stirred up it settles really fast.

I had a bit floating but after 24 hrs that has all pretty much sunk now.

Tested the water today, had a (very low) ammonia reading, but everything else is as it should be, so i hope it is merely a small spike and not a cycle crash.

I'll be testing everyday until i'm positive the cycle hasnt crashed.

Overall i'm really happy with the Carib sea tahitian moon sand, should be a good substrate

bren
 
I had no crash, parameters are perfect.

The deep black of this sand offsets the colour of my golden albinos perfectly.

It settled weel, is easy to clean

I'm a raving fan of this sand

Bren
 
I use tahitian black moonsand for my tank. It works so well with my 2 leucistic axie. The color difference makes my axie stands out from far away. I had them for almost 3 weeks, and I had no problem with the sand. They ate em and spit em easily and even from their gills
 
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