What would look better: Natural or Black Sand?

I'm getting a bit bored of my gravel (and the deep cleaning I have to do once a week), but I'm torn between natural looking sand and black sand.

I'd like some opinions before I make the final choice

Thank you in advance

 

I just started experimenting in my 10 g and have natural sand towards the back (it's on a slope) and black diamond sand mixed with a little natural sand in the front. I'd put a picture but not home right now. And there's a gradient in between.
If you have plants I'd go black mixed or just black. If no plants the natural sand is a good choice IMO

 

Depends on the fish. Some fish like neon tetras really pop with black sand. Others like dark fish look better with light sand.

 

I personally prefer black sand, natural sand tends to wash out the colors in the tank and fish feel more secure with a dark substrate.

 

I vote black. Colors on plants and fish really shows, you don't have to worry about debris showing as much, and the best thing, it will not discolor over time.
Saying that..natural, is very nice if you want a natural setup. I also like that it looks so much better than black if you use leaf litter in your tanks.
If you decide to go with the natural sand, I suggest that you go with the darker color, which will help show the fishes color better.

 

I am thinking of giving up on plants apart from my Echinodorus ozelot, so it'll be decor only for the most part — driftwood and similar. Would driftwood still look quite good with black sand?

 

Yes.

 

Driftwood looks great on it.

Also I would suggest adding a black, or a dark blue background.

 

I really love the black. The Eco Complete looks really nice!! Wanna use it in my next tank

 

Sorry black sand lovers, but in the end I went natural (forgive my betrayal), just because I'm going to try and do a Orinoco delta type scape with loads of wood / twigs and leaf litter and black water. I bought a sand which wasn't too bright, but I haven't seen it wet yet.





What background would look best with this?

Also thank you all for the opinions and advice, I really appreciate it

 

Again I like a darker background to bring out the colors of the tank. However, if your tank will be blackwater, white probably would look fine also.

Some people like frosted glass backgrounds to give the tank depth.

 

Actually you picked the right color for what you are setting up. Leaf litter on black sand would not look natural. I love leaf litter tanks, and think in a few years I will do one myself with Apistogrammas.

 

I do like leaf litter, especially with Indian Almond Leaves.

I had a look at the frosted glass backgrounds. They are a little strange, but also kind of cool. If I were to get one where could I find it?

 

I believe you can get frosted window film from Home Depot or online. It should be removable in case you don't like the look.

 

We don't have a Home Depot in the UK, but I had a look on Amazon. The smallest I could find was a 200cm X 45cm film. Would I be able to cut it to size?

Also I have limescale on the back of my tank, I'd there a fish-friendly way of removing it?

 

We don't have a Home Depot in the UK, but I had a look on Amazon. The smallest I could find was a 200cm X 45cm film. Would I be able to cut it to size?



Also I have limescale on the back of my tank, I'd there a fish-friendly way of removing it?

I'd say a damp cloth or something similar
You could also get a glass scraper and scrape it off, put something like a piece of cardboard underneath the place you're scraping so it doesn't fall into the tank

 

I have never used it myself, but I'd imagine that you could, considering it is film.

You can use white vinegar.

 

Yeah, you can easily cut it to size. I usually cut it with a straight edge and razor blade before application because it goes on smoother without having to fight the excess material. Window frosting is my go to and would make the style of your tank look great and add a layer of depth most backgrounds only limit. Just make sure you invest 10 minutes to watch a tutorial video on how to apply it best and without bubbles if you don't have experience with it. A hundred tiny bubbles between the film and glass looks pretty bad!

Good choice with the sand! I personally don't think enough tanks are done with just a natural tan color.

 

I'd say a damp cloth or something similar
You could also get a glass scraper and scrape it off, put something like a piece of cardboard underneath the place you're scraping so it doesn't fall into the tank

I have never used it myself, but I'd imagine that you could, considering it is film.

You can use white vinegar.

Do you think lemon juice might have the same effect? My parents won't let me strip down the entire tank :/ I'll also try scraping it too.

Yeah, you can easily cut it to size. I usually cut it with a straight edge and razor blade before application because it goes on smoother without having to fight the excess material. Window frosting is my go to and would make the style of your tank look great and add a layer of depth most backgrounds only limit. Just make sure you invest 10 minutes to watch a tutorial video on how to apply it best and without bubbles if you don't have experience with it. A hundred tiny bubbles between the film and glass looks pretty bad!

Good choice with the sand! I personally don't think enough tanks are done with just a natural tan color.

Thank you Silister. If the bubbles under phone protectors annoy me then bubbles at the back of my tank will drive me INSANE!

So I've spent the past couple of hours rinsing the sand (5kg per bucket--only had to use 2) until the water was near enough pristine. I know it's easier on the fish to remove them and I have another 2 13 litre buckets for them (one for my BN and the other for my Keyholes, since my BN thrashes when he's stressed). How do I put the sand in so that it doesn't go everywhere in the water? My parents are only letting me take out 50%.

 

If you're already taking out the fish I'd take out all of the water, filling your buckets up for the fish, then take out whatever substrate you currently have, add your sand, then re-add your water with the fish.

But if you can only take 50%, then just make sure your filters are off and scoop it using a cup, submerge the cup with sand, then dump slowly.

As for your build up on the glass lemon juice should have a similiar but weaker effect.scrape with a razor blade.

 

Thank you Silister! I'll be doing the switching tomorrow, so I'll post a picture when I'm done.

 

I did the change over today and it only took me an hour surprisingly. I saw the bottom of my tank for the first time in twelve years!

The sand felt very soft when I was spreading it out, much better than gravel. Mishka, my BN catfish, loves the stuff and has already made sure to dig in as many places as possible!




I should have cleaned the algae though, but I didn't want to stress out the fish too much by keeping them in a bucket too long.

 

Yeah, cleaning it would have been a good idea! Saw the picture and couldn't figure out why you had all these black spots in your new sand... Now you just need a big piece of driftwood and some dark stones to place in it for an Aquascape!

Next time you shouldn't worry about the fish that much! Remember getting them at the store and they were in a 10 gallon with two dozen of their competitors? Haha! Seriously, I've left them in 5g-10g buckets (even a clean garbage) with their filter running overnight and never had one complain to me for being mistreated while I fancied their home.

 

(Sorry mods, can you delete all the extra posts. Phone was being temperamental last night)

I'm looking for root shaped pieces of wood and some Mazanita wood, but whenever I look it's always out of stock!

What types of rock would look the best in an Orinoco delta scape?

 

Try looking up spider wood and find some river rocks.

 

Is Redmoor wood the same as spider wood? I think it's branded differently in the UK.

 

Sorry black sand lovers, but in the end I went natural (forgive my betrayal), just because I'm going to try and do a Orinoco delta type scape with loads of wood / twigs and leaf litter and black water. I bought a sand which wasn't too bright, but I haven't seen it wet yet.





What background would look best with this?

Also thank you all for the opinions and advice, I really appreciate it

Frosted glass bg