# CaribSea Tahitian Moon Sand black vs. flourite black sand



## fishykid1 (Apr 5, 2010)

Hey everyone,

Has anyone used this as a cap, or substrate.

I'm looking at this and flourite black sand, but many say the black sand isn't truly black. 

It's going to have MTS underneath it, so I'm not worried about nutrients as much as I am look.


----------



## fishykid1 (Apr 5, 2010)

Or what about mixing flourite black and flourite sand...


----------



## jwm5 (May 9, 2010)

I have flourite black sand and its pretty black. For what its worth I also have pool filter sand in another tank and in my opinion I like the pool filter sand tank better, strictly on a color basis, it seems more natural.


----------



## fishykid1 (Apr 5, 2010)

Alright, it'd certainly be cheaper. I like the way black pops against the colors of fish, though. Does your PFS get algae on it bad?


----------



## Franco (Jun 13, 2010)

Coal slag sand blasting grit (Black Diamond/Black Magic). $5-$10 for a 50 lb bag. Makes a great black cap or main substrate for wwaaaayyyy cheaper


----------



## dewalltheway (Jan 19, 2005)

I have it as a cap over MTS and it is black...and looks good.


----------



## HolyAngel (Oct 18, 2010)

I have the Tahitian moon black sand in my 29, its all black and looks good. I havent tried the the fluorite.


----------



## fishykid1 (Apr 5, 2010)

link didn't show up....


----------



## fishykid1 (Apr 5, 2010)

the black moon sand seems really small. Should I worry about this compacting over time? Or will is stay loose as long as I do regular movement of the sand?


----------



## HolyAngel (Oct 18, 2010)

fishykid1 said:


> the black moon sand seems really small. Should I worry about this compacting over time? Or will is stay loose as long as I do regular movement of the sand?


Umm yeah the lower layers may compact a bit if you have a ~3"+ thick substrate but it doesn't seem to be bad or anything, i have about 2.5" and all my plants/roots are doing fine, I poke around once a month or so. The top inch or 2 has always been pretty loose and not compacted at all, it's just the very bottom of it.


----------



## fishykid1 (Apr 5, 2010)

Okay thanks, due to my budget being a lower one. I think I'll go with PFS as a cap for now. Because quite honestly, spending 100$ on sand, just doesn't seem sensible.


----------



## Cottagewitch (Oct 22, 2009)

HolyAngel said:


> Umm yeah the lower layers may compact a bit if you have a ~3"+ thick substrate but it doesn't seem to be bad or anything, i have about 2.5" and all my plants/roots are doing fine, I poke around once a month or so. The top inch or 2 has always been pretty loose and not compacted at all, it's just the very bottom of it.



HolyAngel, are you using the sand exclusively? If so, are you using root tabs or something similar for fertilization?


----------



## fishykid1 (Apr 5, 2010)

Doesn't say anything about root tabs in her journal...If it's a low-tech tank, they aren't as essential.. 


EDIT**** Just read, she recently upgraded her lighting to a odyssea t5ho.. She's going to need some root tabs


----------



## HolyAngel (Oct 18, 2010)

Cottagewitch said:


> HolyAngel, are you using the sand exclusively? If so, are you using root tabs or something similar for fertilization?


Been using root tabs since I started the tank as well as the flourish line of ferts  

And yes I've been using the Tahitian moon sand exclusively in my 29 ^^

I'm a guy btw


----------



## aaronbrown (Apr 13, 2010)

i use black diamond in three of my tanks and i like it little harder to clean the gunk off the top because it is so light but its cheap enough if you do need to add more later on if you siphon to much out of the tank i also use 3-4 inches of it in my tanks so far in almost a year i have no problems with it compacting but i also have a few different loaches that love to burrow in the sand my horsehead loach loves to burrow the most


----------



## Baadboy11 (Oct 28, 2009)

What fish are you getting? Tahitian moon and coalslag are not so good for cories/softbelly fish, where as flourite sand is. I've found the flourite is a little gray but still looks good. You could also check out estes black sand, I've heard a few good reviews on it.


----------



## HolyAngel (Oct 18, 2010)

Baadboy11 said:


> What fish are you getting? Tahitian moon and coalslag are not so good for cories/softbelly fish, where as flourite sand is. I've found the flourite is a little gray but still looks good. You could also check out estes black sand, I've heard a few good reviews on it.


I have 8 cory's and 4 kuhli loaches, they love the Tahitian moon sand and their bellies/barbels don't get red or damaged at all, I've never seen it happen since I've had it and I've had the corys the longest.

Coalslag I've heard can be sharp tho and can cause damage, the Tahitian moon does not have any sharp particles in it.


----------



## fishykid1 (Apr 5, 2010)

HolyAngel said:


> Been using root tabs since I started the tank as well as the flourish line of ferts
> 
> And yes I've been using the Tahitian moon sand exclusively in my 29 ^^
> 
> I'm a guy btw



My apologies. Wish they had a gender is ..... thing on here. Sometimes it is hard to tell by user names.


----------



## fishykid1 (Apr 5, 2010)

HolyAngel said:


> I have 8 cory's and 4 kuhli loaches, they love the Tahitian moon sand and their bellies/barbels don't get red or damaged at all, I've never seen it happen since I've had it and I've had the corys the longest.
> 
> Coalslag I've heard can be sharp tho and can cause damage, the Tahitian moon does not have any sharp particles in it.



Thanks for the heads up. 

Due to recent cuts and moved priorities for this tank, I can't afford to spend 100$ on just sand. (It will be going to a better light (catalina) and another filter (catalina CA1000) So instead I will be using PFS (pool filter sand). The sand I located is a nice color and is consistently smooth/grain size. Maybe later down the road I'll consider moving this tank over to either flourite sand or black moon sand.


----------



## Cottagewitch (Oct 22, 2009)

Understandable!


----------



## fishykid1 (Apr 5, 2010)

Best off, this sand is definitely cory and soft belly safe


----------



## scape (Nov 27, 2010)

29 gallon with tahitan moon sand only. Its about 2" for the most part. Root tabs + Seachem iron + flourish + excel + co2


----------



## Baadboy11 (Oct 28, 2009)

HolyAngel said:


> I have 8 cory's and 4 kuhli loaches, they love the Tahitian moon sand and their bellies/barbels don't get red or damaged at all, I've never seen it happen since I've had it and I've had the corys the longest.
> 
> Coalslag I've heard can be sharp tho and can cause damage, the Tahitian moon does not have any sharp particles in it.



Just fyi I had opposite experience with TM, lost two cories due to infections from worn barbels...that was a while ago so maybe they changed things. 

OP pool filter sand should work great for ya...good luck!!


----------



## fishykid1 (Apr 5, 2010)

Thanks, I just threw it in a glass jar into my 20G and I think it'll look nice. I also put some MTS underneath it and a few sprigs of hair grass, they are already shooting up new stems in a week's time.


----------



## ibnozn (May 24, 2007)

I've used Flourite black as well as TMS. Flourite black is better IMO. TMS is crushed obsidian (volcanic glass), and probably is not the best for bottom dwelling fish. Also, the TMS gets picked up very easily by magnetic glass cleaners and will scratch your glass.


----------



## Burks (May 21, 2006)

Where are you guys getting the Black Diamond/Black Magic?


----------



## fishykid1 (Apr 5, 2010)

Wish I knew, I wish we had a cerama-quartz dealer around here. I would have gone that route instead.


----------



## Buc_Nasty (Oct 22, 2010)

ibnozn said:


> I've used Flourite black as well as TMS. Flourite black is better IMO. TMS is crushed obsidian (volcanic glass), and probably is not the best for bottom dwelling fish. Also, the TMS gets picked up very easily by magnetic glass cleaners and will scratch your glass.


I have used both as well - switched from flourite black sand to TMS.

Mag glass cleaners definitely picked up TMS, I got a few scratches before I realized, luckily nothing too bad.

The TMS is Much more black than flourite - the flourite is much more grayish. TMS looks better in my opinion.

The TMS is also extremely light. I'm actually having problems now with my filter (eheim 2262) being too strong and causing severe drifting of the sand and screws up the whole flow of the tank. I'm now exploring other options, may go back to the flourite black or flourite black sand - didnt have the 2262 when i had the flourite sand so not sure if it drifts/blows around.

Any have experience with flourite black gravel (not sand) - does it accumulate too much debris? I'm wondering if my strong current from filter will be able to blow the debris off it or if itll get stuck?


----------

