Pool Filter Sand Vs Black Sand

[malfunction]

So, I'm struggling to decide which type of sand to use for my next set up...which would you go for?

 

[BerryAttack]

depends on the look you want.
pool filter sand will give you the beach, tropical look while the black sand will give you the more brackish (sometimes, but not always) feel and or volcanic regions... or i have seen it done a lot with cichlids.. but that is with either or.. (always like black sand with them.. makes their colours pop)
pool filter sand will look dirty faster because of the colour difference, as the black won't.
 
i've only had the play sand, not the black but that one looks nice. i have the dirt substrate with small black gravel and love the look of it. so i'd pick the black sand.

 

[508]

black if you go for carpet and have your plants stand out more than wood or rocks
 
pool filter sand if you want the wood or rocks to stand out more and the plants won't be the main scape feature
 
you'll also notice poop more with pool filter sand but I don't think that's an entirely bad thing, it reminds you to keep up with water changes

 

[Lillefishy]

Both have their merits, plants stand out on black & some fishes colour becomes more vibrant, pale sand lightens the tank & has been said highlights wood & rocks, some fish however can look washed out with a pale substrate.
I have black in a couple of tanks & natural sand in others.

 

[looking-glass]

i find black sand with the right lighting shows of the colours of the fish better  

 

[Malex530]

Black sand for display tanks(hides the waste on the bottom). Play sand for biotopes and for getting a dirty river look. 

 

[malfunction]

Looks like black sand is the clear winner.

Thanks for the input everyone!

 

[fluttermoth]

Can I just add a word from personal experience?

I don't know if you're intending to have any corydoras or loaches in your tank but, if you are, I would go with the pool filter sand. I'm on my third (or fourth?) different black sand now, and I've noticed while my cories were feeding earlier that they're starting to lose their barbels 

 
I was sure this was smooth enough (it's Pettex Roman black sand, in case anyone else is looking at it). It looks great, but I'm going back to playsand. My pandas are on it and their barbels are really long. Hope the others grow their's back
 
The stuff I tried before this turned out to be volcanic and was full of sulphur; killed two BNs a cory and three glass cats. Luckily it didn't affect my neons or hatchets.

 

[Lillefishy]

Good point Fluttermoth, some black sand isn't good for bottom dwellers, Unipac Limpopo is cory friendly I have it in a couple of my cory tanks & they have lovely long barbels

 

[fluttermoth]

Oh, I might have a look at that, thanks!
 
I would like to stick with black, but obviously the fish have to come first!

 

[malfunction]

Thanks for the heads up, I'll have to be extra careful as there'll be geophagus in the tank. I've been looking at Limpopo & Carib Sea's Tahitan Moon Sand. Hopefully one or both of these will be fine enough and smooth enough for geos. If not, then it's back to pool filter sand.

Sorry to hear about your BNs Fluttermouth.

 

[Weiro792]

I like Black sand as it brings out the color of my fish 

 

[fluttermoth]

Thanks, malfunction; I still feel guilty
 
I know the Tahitian moon sand is not bottom dweller safe.

 

[Weiro792]

Thanks, malfunction; I still feel guilty

 
I know the Tahitian moon sand is not bottom dweller safe.

 
Just a thought... I use petco black aquarium sand and for about 6 months I had six julli cory cats which turned into 12 after breeding and all of their barbells were fine. So what makes the Tahitian moon sand unsafe for bottom dwellers? 

 

[fluttermoth]

It's too sharp. I used to have a close up pic of it, but I can't seem to find it now! It used to say on the Caribsea website 'not soft belly safe', but they've changed their website since then, and those warnings aren't there any more (not just for TMS).