Changing my ugly blue gravel to black sand!

[AmyKieran]

I'd ask where you got the black sand, but if you are in the UK I don't think I can afford the shipping. Tank looks great.

Yeah from eBay link below if US delivery is possible

Aquarium Sand Black 25Kg bag 1.7mm grade | eBay

The sand sparkles under led fluorescent lighting. A natural 0.2 - 1.7mm grade so is a course grade gritty sand. Looks great and is an ideal substitute for gravel. 100% natural Contains no artificial colours or dyes Suitable for Tropical and Coldwater fish.

www.ebay.co.uk

 

[Wills]

I was going to say posterboard too Maybe get some sticky back plastic on it so its a bit water proof.

 

[AdoraBelle Dearheart]

Love it! Looks both more natural, and yet also more striking and dramatic, with the contrast between the black sand and light coloured rocks. Nice!
I know nothing about cichlids, except bits and pieces like they need to be heavily stocked/need rockwork/tend to destroy plants, lol. So can someone tell me what the black ones in this tank are? Really cool looking, I like them! Shape reminds me of a ram.

 

[AmyKieran]

I was going to say posterboard too Maybe get some sticky back plastic on it so its a bit water proof.

Just went and got some, will be fitting tomorrow

 

[AmyKieran]

Love it! Looks both more natural, and yet also more striking and dramatic, with the contrast between the black sand and light coloured rocks. Nice!
I know nothing about cichlids, except bits and pieces like they need to be heavily stocked/need rockwork/tend to destroy plants, lol. So can someone tell me what the black ones in this tank are? Really cool looking, I like them! Shape reminds me of a ram.

Well the couple with black on are things like certain mbuna, venustus, Livingstoni, Orange top hongi, Johanni, frontosa and OB’s have a bit of black too. I’m glad you liked the tank

 

[AdoraBelle Dearheart]

Well the couple with black on are things like certain mbuna, venustus, Livingstoni, Orange top hongi, Johanni, frontosa and OB’s have a bit of black too. I’m glad you liked the tank

I really like it! I'm personally into nano fish for what I want to keep myself, but I'd like some apistos at some point, maybe angels - and certainly doesn't stop me admiring a beautiful rift lake tank! If you don't mind, I'll borrow and circle one of your photos to show which fish I meant.
I certainly know that it's a big job switching out all the substrate on a stocked tank. Hard work! Would love to see it once the cloudiness has cleared up. Don't forget that switching all the substrate can knock back the bacterial colonies, so keep an eye on ammonia/nitrites/nitrates for a while, and water change as needed. I only needed about four-five days to manage a nitrite spike when I moved fish to a clean tank, called a mini-cycle.

Crossing fingers that your plants don't get eaten... lol!

 

[Slaphppy7]

For your next tank, PAINT the back glass black....nothing beats the look that will give you...but the posterboard will make a significant difference, as you will see

 

[AdoraBelle Dearheart]

These are the ones I was curious about, species wise!

 

[Rocky998]

These are the ones I was curious about, species wise!

View attachment 161109

They do look sharp...
I bet a black background would make those guys POP!

 

[ClownLurch]

Where do I get poster board from?

The Range is where I get mine

 

[AmyKieran]

The Range is where I get mine

I just got some from hobby craft, I’ll update photos once I finish fighting with it

 

[AmyKieran]

They do look sharp...
I bet a black background would make those guys POP!

I’ve finished putting the black background on one side, it actually doesn’t as much because the glass is somewhat mirrored, it would perhaps if I put it on the inside but I just am ready to collapse so I’ll leave that for another day lol

 

[AmyKieran]

For your next tank, PAINT the back glass black....nothing beats the look that will give you...but the posterboard will make a significant difference, as you will see

I’ve put some side on, does a good job hiding the pipes but not so much for the fish, the glass inside is showing reflections but I probably should have put something on the inside lol

 

[AmyKieran]

These are the ones I was curious about, species wise!

View attachment 161109

I know the bottom one is a kind of mbuna but I’m not actually sure of what, I also don’t know the top one lol sorry

 

[AmyKieran]

I really like it! I'm personally into nano fish for what I want to keep myself, but I'd like some apistos at some point, maybe angels - and certainly doesn't stop me admiring a beautiful rift lake tank! If you don't mind, I'll borrow and circle one of your photos to show which fish I meant.
I certainly know that it's a big job switching out all the substrate on a stocked tank. Hard work! Would love to see it once the cloudiness has cleared up. Don't forget that switching all the substrate can knock back the bacterial colonies, so keep an eye on ammonia/nitrites/nitrates for a while, and water change as needed. I only needed about four-five days to manage a nitrite spike when I moved fish to a clean tank, called a mini-cycle.

Crossing fingers that your plants don't get eaten... lol!

Came home from the shops and one plant has been uprooted but other than that nothing else for a cichlid tank that’s a win in my book. Also yes I’ll be testing probably every day for a while