Black sand for corydoras

Hi,
I'm looking to get a bigger aquarium soon to upgrade my fish to and am currently thinking of the substrate I want. I would like some kind of sand and have heard black sand is better as light coloured sand is too bright for the fish. I have 2 Cory's (im planning on getting more) and 1 betta in my tank.
I know there is some type of black blasting sand but I've heard it might be too sharp for Cory's and is also shiny (although that might just be the black diamond stuff, if those r different types?) and Im not looking for anything shiny or sparkly. It's going to be a planted tank but i can put plant substrate underneath the sand if necessary.
If anyone has any ideas for black sand that is Cory safe then please let me know, and also please correct me if I've got any info wrong about the sand in this post!

 

Imagitarium sand from Petco
Fluval stratum

 

Imagitarium sand from Petco
Fluval stratum

I sadly can't get the Petco sand where I live and the fluval stratum seems to say that it lowers PH, and I have to raise my ph normally as it's too low, so that's not really an option. Thanks for the reply though!!
I've noticed flourite black sand though, do you know if this would maybe be ok?

 

I like flourite black sand, it is a bit more expensive then others for an inert substrate. But its a very consistent grain and color - more of a dark slate gray than a black though. Flourite black sand should be heavily rinsed before putting into the tank or you will have cloudy water for days and days.

Black Diamond Blasting sand also works and is going to be the best bang for your buck. It's probably going to be the blackest substrate you can get but does have some amber colored grains mixed that can have a little sparkle to them. Blasting sands are hard not sharp and are not dangerous to Corys.

I have used both, I don't have a preference between the two for looks. I like them both but I use blasting sand these days for the amounts I need. 50 lb bags for 10 dollars at tractor supply vs 30 dollars for a 15 lb bag of flourite black/black sand.

 

I like flourite black sand, it is a bit more expensive then others for an inert substrate. But its a very consistent grain and color - more of a dark slate gray than a black though. Flourite black sand should be heavily rinsed before putting into the tank or you will have cloudy water for days and days.

Black Diamond Blasting sand also works and is going to be the best bang for your buck. It's probably going to be the blackest substrate you can get but does have some amber colored grains mixed that can have a little sparkle to them. Blasting sands are hard not sharp and are not dangerous to Corys.

I have used both, I don't have a preference between the two for looks. I like them both but I use blasting sand these days for the amounts I need. 50 lb bags for 10 dollars at tractor supply vs 30 dollars for a 15 lb bag of flourite black/black sand.

Thanks, I did think fluorite was pretty expensive!! Do you have any brands of black diamond blasting sand that you prefer as I'm finding it hard to find any on Amazon?

 

I unfortunately haven't had any luck finding it on Amazon. The brand I use is Black Diamond blasting sand, the medium grit size which I believe is 20/40, I think think the fine would be too small. The medium is about identical to flourite black sand in grain size. Black Beauty is another brand I have heard of that should be same.

Tractor Supply or Fleet Farm are where I get them, I am not sure how much money you will save ordering these online if you can find them. Shipping costs for 50 lbs will probably eat into any possible savings over Flourite black.

How large of a tank will you be upgrading to? I found that you need about two 15 lb bags of flourite for a single 40 breeder.

 

Light coloured sand is bright because many people use their aquarium as a light house. Limit the lights with a dimmer, add (floating) plants for -amongst others- shades, and you already have the beginnings of a natural looking tank for your cory's.

Nothing wrong with darker sand though

 

I've had a look on eBay and found some black sand that seems ok, what do you think?

Light coloured sand is bright because many people use their aquarium as a light house. Limit the lights with a dimmer, add (floating) plants for -amongst others- shades, and you already have the beginnings of a natural looking tank for your cory's.

Nothing wrong with darker sand though

Oh thank you! I'll definitely keep this in mind!

 

That looks really nice, and a fair price.

Just as a side note too now that I think about - typically when you hear about corys losing barbells its more likely related to poor water/tank conditions then a rough substrate, unless its truly very sharp. Bacterial/fungal infections and the like.

 

That looks really nice, and a fair price.

Just as a side note too now that I think about - typically when you hear about corys losing barbells its more likely related to poor water/tank conditions then a rough substrate, unless its truly very sharp. Bacterial/fungal infections and the like.

Yeah, I've heard this too. I've currently got my Cory's in a small gravel but am interested in the sand as I've seen really awesome videos of Cory's digging and thought it might be fun for my them! Plus it looks really cute !

 

Ok, so now that I know light coloured sand isn't necessarily too bright ,as long I have floating plants or a not too bright light, i can't decide what sand to get. I'm between the black sand that I've mentioned already and unipac silver sand! Anyone got any thoughts

 

I would not choose black sand substrate for sake of aesthetics / scaping your tank. I find black substrate, apart from active soil, in almost all cases fake-looking, and more importantly, difficult to combine with hardscape to create a nice, natural looking tank.

The only exception would be a volcanic theme... but not sure if there are corydoras that hail from the galapagos or iceland....

There are light-colored substrates that are more light-brown instead of white.

Also, cheap substrates typically have a very uniform grain size and color, whereas the more expensive ones have a more natural variety in terms of grain size and color. The latter type has the advantage that waste products are less noticeable (and if you are like me, you actually favor such naturalness).

An example of a sand substrate that is light brown and has a tiny bit of natural variety is ADA Colorado sand substrate. Mind you, it is probably also the most expensive. But if you like to enjoy watching your tank each day, I would skip dining out with friends for one time, and invest in the sand.

Alternatively, you combine different sands. One bag of ADA and a cheaper bag, and mix these.

Light-brown color substrate is easy to combine with e.g. a few river stones, plants and especially hardwood.

 

Thank you! I think I'll go with a lighter sand then, as I'm not a fan of fake looking substrate. I'll go have a look at the sand you mentioned now!

 

Thank you! I think I'll go with a lighter sand then, as I'm not a fan of fake looking substrate. I'll go have a look at the sand you mentioned now!

To give you an idea; the sand in the tank in my avatar and in the tank that I have described here: Nature style low-tech 30 gallon aquascape | Freshwater Aquarium Builds Forum | 509717

are both the same, although they look different due to the light. This sand is 100% ADA La Plata sand substrate. This is actually a lighter variety of ADA Colorado....

 

I love the look of both ADA sands but I think they are a bit too expensive, in the UK at least, it looks like it's about £30 for 8kg! But I'll have a look and see if there is anything similar, maybe the unipac silver sand?

 

Yes, in the Netherlands the same price. Again, you could purchase a larger, more cheap alternative and combine this with a 2 kg ADA bag. And use the latter as your top-layer.....well, mind you, if you have corydoras the sand will mix and level easily. But still, it is better than only a cheap substrate with a very uniform look (like "play sand").

Just to repeat, if you google the sand and observe tanks that have ADA sand, the looks are very, very much determined by the light. A dimmer or some opaque plate below your light, can create a more natural look and make your sand appear darker.

Good luck!

 

Hi, if you’re wanting a dark substrate but not jet black have a look at Unipac Limpopo, a larger grain sand that isn’t a uniform black.
It looks like gravel in the pic but that was taken on a macro setting to get a clearer shot of the young cory.

 

Hi Coradee, I am no expert on corydoras (I simply don't have em). I thought a natural behavior of all corydoras is to let sand pass their gills in search for food. Just curious...

 

Hi Coradee, I am no expert on corydoras (I simply don't have em). I thought a natural behavior of all corydoras is to let sand pass their gills in search for food. Just curious...

It is & they can do that with the Limpopo it’s just the pic makes it look like gravel.

 

I would not choose black sand substrate for sake of aesthetics / scaping your tank. I find black substrate, apart from active soil, in almost all cases fake-looking, and more importantly, difficult to combine with hardscape to create a nice, natural looking tank.

Comes down to personal taste. I find black backgrounds and substrate are the best for making everything else pop. Fish look better, very colorful, bright green and red plants really pop. All my shrimp pop. I think the only reason it wouldn't look natural is if you didn't stick many plants in there.

I guess where I live, our soil is very black. So with a nice carpeting plant over some of the tank with limited sections of exposed sand for contrast, just looks like my yard outside which seems pretty natural.

 

I love the look of both ADA sands but I think they are a bit too expensive, in the UK at least, it looks like it's about £30 for 8kg! But I'll have a look and see if there is anything similar, maybe the unipac silver sand?

what sand did you go for?
ive got the same issue. any advice?
Awesomeneptune

 

what sand did you go for?
ive got the same issue. any advice?
Awesomeneptune

I'm afraid I won't be any help as I ended up buying normal coloured sand, as it was all they had at my lfs and was much cheaper than any online. If I remember correctly EBay had quite a lot of black sand to choose from though.

 

I'm afraid I won't be any help as I ended up buying normal coloured sand, as it was all they had at my lfs and was much cheaper than any online. If I remember correctly EBay had quite a lot of black sand to choose from though.

even if its normal coloured sand what sand did you get? i just want a sand my corys will enjoy. any help is great

 

even if its normal coloured sand what sand did you get? i just want a sand my corys will enjoy. any help is great

Awesomeneptune

 

I'm afraid I still can't really help much. I'll try and look for the type of sand I got, but I didn't really use it for Cory's. Well I did but sadly they got ill so I didn't have them for long.
This link might be useful though: The Best Substrate For Cory Catfish (Myth debunked) | Keeping Catfish

 

even if its normal coloured sand what sand did you get? i just want a sand my corys will enjoy. any help is great

Not sure what sand you ended up getting. I recently took out some gravel and placing a layer of sand on top at the beginning of the month. I used Estes Stoney River Premium Aquarium Sand - Black, and I haven't seen any negative affects and my corys actually enjoy it a lot more than the gravel from what I've observed.