Black and White Sand

[elm0]

I've seen reef tanks with a mixture of black and white sand and I really like the look of it, very different, IMO.
I was wanting some opinions on that, and maybe some suggestions of what I can use to acheive that look without having to buy the expensive Caribsea live sand black and white mix.

Thanks

[StephenA]

Over time it will mix together.

[elm0]

I'm wanting to know more specifically to acheive the black and white mixture of sand. Is there a specific type of white sand and black sand that I can buy dry and then mix myself and save some cash?

[StephenA]

I like the http://www.purearagonite.com/ for the white and this for the black http://www.petstore.com/md_viewItem.asp?idproduct=CS0821

[GaryP]

IMO, if the grain size of the two colors are significantly different it will eventually seperate with the larger particle size coming to the surface. That's what happens when you use a coarse and fine sand. If the particle size is close to being the same it may take so long for the seperation to take place that it may not be significant.

Another question I would ask is what is the source of the black sand. My understanding is that black sand, such is found in Hawaii, is usually volcanic in origin. I have always heard that volcanic rock, such as pumice, is high in heavy metals and not suitable for aquarium use. A lot of the pumice you see in fish stores is man made and not volcanic in origin.

Gary

[Instar]

I don't use black for sps corals because it doesn't reflect the light back to the underside of the corals that develope into tables. For zoos, and other similar things that don't need as much light, it should be ok.

[captexas]

Definately agree with Gary on the size of the sand particles. In the 58g I had, I mixed the fine oolite sand with the slightly larger coarse reef sand and over time all the find sand settled to the bottom of the tank.

[Ram_Puppy]

I actually have the carib sea mix. You can achieve the same thing mroe cheaply with the tahitian moon sand.

Gary P is right, there are some larger bits in the mix and they do seperate. It hasn' been that bad t hough. I have also noticed some striation as well. I expect with more sand sifters it would stay well mixed.

As far as I can tell the grain size on the tahitian moon sand is pretty small, so it shouldnt be a problem. Also, if the sand is volcanic in origin, it is most likely obsidian, which is not very porus and I would expect natural leaching would probably have already taken care of any metals or what not in it. It is sold as reef safe sand.

[GaryP]

If it was harvested from a beach I suppose it would have already been leached. I would agree with that.

Gary

[Instar]

There's some bottled live "all natural" sea water at Alamo that is also sold as "reef safe" that has been fortified with things like Aluminum, Barium and other heavy metal toxins. "Reef Safe" means almost nothing as a label in this hobby. It just means they tried it and nothing died in the few minutes to hour they tried it, if they tried it at all in a closed system, and that is the extent to many tests for things not under the FDA rules. If its found near water, some lable it "reef safe". I would not just go for it just because it says "reef safe". I've killed all my pods and larval shrimp with one of the "reef safe" flake foods in past tests.

[elm0]

Thanks for all the info guys, I'll take it all into consideration.