# Substrate colour



## Fishlover02 (Feb 25, 2013)

I`m thinking about using white pool filter sand for a red cherry shrimp tank that I`m setting up. Will the colour of the substrate affect the colour of the shrimp? If so, what's better, darker or lighter substrate? Thanks in advance for any and all replies


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## solarz (Aug 31, 2010)

Fishlover02 said:


> I`m thinking about using white pool filter sand for a red cherry shrimp tank that I`m setting up. Will the colour of the substrate affect the colour of the shrimp? If so, what's better, darker or lighter substrate? Thanks in advance for any and all replies


Yes, it definitely will. Cherry shrimps change the color of their shell based on the color of their surroundings. Lighter colored surroundings cause them to make their shell more transparent.


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## Fishlover02 (Feb 25, 2013)

well, that's unfortunate... do all shrimp do that, or just neocaridina varieties, or? As I may be getting some crs and amano's as well


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## randy (Jan 29, 2012)

Not only most shrimps don't show well on white sand, their poo will drive you crazy as black dots on white sand doesn't look nice.


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## Fishlover02 (Feb 25, 2013)

That would probably drive me crazy... after some research I've come across black blasting sand, would that be safe to use, in the sense that it wouldn't harm any livestock I add?


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## Fishfur (Mar 4, 2012)

There are some here using it with no bad effects, but many are saying it is pretty bad for shrimps and other inverts. Depends exactly what you get, but there's a post from the Menagerie store, who used it in a number of their tanks and they were most unhappy with it. It killed some of the livestock, though I don't recall which ones just now. Sure it's cheap, but you get what you pay for.. and you pay a lot for your livestock. Personally I would not use the stuff, there are enough troubles keeping shrimp and fish alive and happy without the possibility of dangerous leachates from a cheap substrate.


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## Fishlover02 (Feb 25, 2013)

Hmm, I think I'll stay away from that then...


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## coldmantis (Apr 5, 2010)

this one looks great, super black and is shrimp safe. I have used this before on a shrimp tank and had no issues

http://www.bigalspets.ca/instant-aquarium-tahitian-moon-10-lb.html


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## Fishfur (Mar 4, 2012)

I have Tahitian Moon sand in a couple of tanks. It's not cheap, sadly, but it is gorgeous. I really like it. Plants seem to enjoy it, and it has a nice sparkle effect when the lights are on. Shrimp show up beautifully against it, as do fish.


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## Modo (Oct 9, 2012)

Yeah, I love the black sand that I have too. Shrimps looks great against the dark colour. Plants also contrast very nicely to black. It does sparkle a little. Like Fishur said, it's not cheap. I think I needed bag and a half to cover a 36" x 12" footprint to 1.5" thick. @ $27 plus tax per bag.


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## Fishlover02 (Feb 25, 2013)

As nice as the tahitian moon sand looks, I don't have the coinage for it right now... I may just revert to my other idea of trying to breed a species of cory catfish instead, as I have everything I'd need already, and I already have one shrimp tank. Having said that, whenever I do set up a second shrimp tank, I'm definitely going with the tahitian moon sand, that stuff looks great!


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## LTPGuy (Aug 8, 2012)

Anyone use Bio-Activ Live Aragonite Reef Sands? Is it similar to Tahiti Moonsand? Will need to rinse all of the reef stuff off though.

On sale from ba online.

Might use this on my Sulawesi setup if it's real aragonite. Somehow I doubt it's aragonite.


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## Modo (Oct 9, 2012)

I still have half a bag left. May be good enough as a top layer. Will trade you for some shrimps.


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## Fishfur (Mar 4, 2012)

Bear in mind, that Aragonite live sand started out with live marine bacteria, billions of them. They'll die in fresh water, which might just be really nasty to deal with. The whole idea of that product is that each grain of it is covered with live marine biofilm, which is not the same as freshwater biofilm. 

It's also got very fine grains.. not necessarily ideal for plants, if plants are part of the deal. I truly haven't any idea if it would be possible to 'rinse' off the marine bacteria effectively, but I would not want to try it in case it didn't work. The website for it says it is aragonite, btw.


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## LTPGuy (Aug 8, 2012)

Fishfur said:


> Bear in mind, that Aragonite live sand started out with live marine bacteria, billions of them. They'll die in fresh water, which might just be really nasty to deal with. The whole idea of that product is that each grain of it is covered with live marine biofilm, which is not the same as freshwater biofilm.
> 
> It's also got very fine grains.. not necessarily ideal for plants, if plants are part of the deal. I truly haven't any idea if it would be possible to 'rinse' off the marine bacteria effectively, but I would not want to try it in case it didn't work. The website for it says it is aragonite, btw.


I was thinking of a dark substrate mainly for a shrimp tank. I did a little bit more researching and found sandblasting abrasive made out of coal slag.

It's black and because it's crystalline, there is a little shimmer to it. I wonder if the moon sand is made of the same material as they look identical. I picked up a 55lb bag from a local sandblast supplier for $10; paying due to uncle Harper it's $12.50.

The MSDS indicates that it is inert comprised mostly of silicon dioxide and aluminum oxide. It can be disposed safely without environmental concern. Member from other forums have used the Black Diamond brand of coal slag indicating no detrimental effect on plants and aquatic life.

I am going to run a test setup with one of the shrimps from my sump/culling tank.


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## muskieboy (Feb 5, 2012)

LTPGuy said:


> I was thinking of a dark substrate mainly for a shrimp tank. I did a little bit more researching and found sandblasting abrasive made out of coal slag.
> 
> It's black and because it's crystalline, there is a little shimmer to it. I wonder if the moon sand is made of the same material as they look identical. I picked up a 55lb bag from a local sandblast supplier for $10; paying due to uncle Harper it's $12.50.
> 
> ...


Did you get the sand from TSC? Please keep us updated on how it turns out.


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## LTPGuy (Aug 8, 2012)

muskieboy said:


> Did you get the sand from TSC? Please keep us updated on how it turns out.


I googled for the closest sandblast supplier near me and called them up. They did not have Black Diamond brand but rather Bell&Mackenzie. They normally sell by the skid, but the manager was quite nice and sold me a bag anyhow.

They are not TSC. The closest TSC is in Milton for me, and didn't have Black Diamond Abrasive listed on their website.

The material is actually #20 Nickel/Coal Slag blend and ~95% by volume is magnetic. There are course chunk of glassy opague black grains in the mix. By volume, it would account for 2-3%. Grain size could be bigger for me.

The colour is Charcoal as in greyish black not midnight black. It looks quite nice under low light and medium light from a distance (>1m). It's more grey than black under high light or up close.

It's even difficult to take a photo that is representative of the material, but below are two I took that best represent what the material looks like to me.

The top photo has diffused window light incident on the material and then reflected away from the material and the light source into the camera. Note that I added some table salt for grain size comparison.

The bottom photo is with the same diffused light, but reflected 180° back toward the source. It's quite grey!










If someone can post photo of their Tahatian Moon, and other black substrate, it would do for a comparison. I don't trust the manufacturer photo.

Also, the material on initial rinsing leaves a greasy film that can only be wiped away. There are some bits of floaties that will not sink that you just have to dump during the rinsing. After the wiping and rising, it is quite clean, clear and non-cloudy.

It has no affect on pH, and a neocaridina heteropoda var. crossbred (revert to wild colour) show no sign of trauma.

I have mix feeling about the colour, and not having a completely black substrate to compare it's hard to comment on which is better. In the end, it's also subjective as personal preference dictates.


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## coldmantis (Apr 5, 2010)

this is what moon sand looks like

http://www.petco.com/product/112366/CaribSea-Instant-Aquarium-Tahitian-Moon-Gravel.aspx


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## pyrrolin (Jan 11, 2012)

when its a small tank buying a more expensive substrate isn't too big of a deal, but if you are doing a large tank then the price can get nuts


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