Recommended Substrate For A Blackwater Tank...

Abyss · Oct 10, 2011

I've always used play sand cos it looks great and is dirt cheap but...

1. it's a bit light (Argos, B&Q, Tesco more or less the same imo)...
2. I'm sick to death of it over compacting (cos it is so fine) and running the risk of releasing nasty gasses.

So...

I'm looking for something more suitable to a blackwater setup. Something a bit muddy looking maybe. I don't want gravel.

Would also be good if it was suitable for plants just in case I add the odd one in the future but this is not a deal breaker.

Any recommendations?

Thanks.

minnnt · Oct 10, 2011

Unipac Senagal sand. :good:

Abyss · Oct 12, 2011

Actually, that looks really good.

This is the exact habitat I'm trying to recreate (River Negro)..

and here is Senegal sand in a tank:

Looks good to me.

Though, I have yet to find anywhere that actually has it. Local shops included.

minnnt · Oct 12, 2011

Am i good or am i good?!

Where abouts are you?

hanny93 · Oct 12, 2011

have you looked at homebase playsand?

ive got it in my tank, its really quite dark, more muddy looking than ice cream looking! slightly reddish

Abyss · Oct 12, 2011

minnnt said:
Am i good or am i good?!

Where abouts are you?

Wirral...and yeah, it was a good call.

hanny93 said:
have you looked at homebase playsand?

ive got it in my tank, its really quite dark, more muddy looking than ice cream looking! slightly reddish

I haven't no, but it's not really the colour that is the problem with the playsand, it's that it tends to be more like 'powder' than sand. I saw some of the other Unipac stuff and it has a much larger grain size.

When I had coral sand for my Malawi's it was brilliant, but the smaller particle play sand tends to get everywhere, I'm lucky I have that 'pre filter' section in my Eheim or it would get clogged up quickly.

So I think I'll avoid it for a bit, as much as it pains me cos it's so nice and cheap.