Dark/Natural Inert Substrate Options

[Tihshho]

Getting around to setting up a new display and trying to figure out what I want to do substrate wise. I've limited my options to being inert (more so on nutrients not minerals) and would prefer something finer and natural. I'd like to stay away from sand (though going with Seachem Onyx Sand has been a go to for me for a while) and I'd like to see what recommendations others have. The texture size of the CaribSea Super Naturals peace river is catching my eye, but the overall color is a bit too bright for me I think. I've been stuck in the black painted barebottom/dark substrate world for a long time and I personally prefer how it makes the fish pop more. 

Initially, I swore there were different course grades of poolfilter sand that had a dark silica/quartz but I can't seem to find it. When I was overseas I remember being able to snag 50lb bags of it for next to nothing. Perusing the local hardware and big box stores with garden supplies, I can't seem to find a fine dark gravel local. Even checked out a few quarries to see what they had available and the closest thing they had to the right size was basically Onyx Sand.

Anyone have any recommendations for products they have used and enjoyed? 

[Fish Folk]

We’ve used medium grade black diamond blasting sand from Tractor Supply…

It’s cheap, but there are drawbacks. (1) It’s very dusty / dirty. It takes me hours to wash out in the tub. (2) It doesn’t do anything for plants. It won’t hold roots, won’t absorb nutrients, and tends to show up off-colored detritus, molm, etc. on top. (3) I have often fought with diatom algae with BDBS.

I highly recommend trying black Activ-Flora substrate. It is very fine, and “sand-like” but with loads of other benefits.

Biggest drawback is that you’ll pay an arm and a leg for it. But I do love it!

[Tihshho]

Good options color wise! I've use BDBS years ago and the experience you mentioned is exactly why I never went back to it. Being this is a display tank, ideally I'd like to make sure that I'm not introducing more challenges than I need to. 

I'm not sure that I've seen the dark ActiveFlora before, I'll have to take a look on Google to see how it looks in tanks and the grain size. Ideally, I'd like to not be too sandy.

[Fish Folk]

The Active Flora substrate comes is very different colors. What's odd to me is that each color is a VERY different consistency. The red / gold substrate pieces are much larger. The Black is quite fine by contrast -- much finer than Eco Complete -- but not "sand" either.

My LFS Ordered a bunch of black for us. But the supplier didn't pay attention and sent in a load of different colors. We began examining the differences, and feel like each color is a totally different type of substrate.

[Odd Duck]

Weird.  I’ve had no problems at all washing out an entire bag of BDBS within about 20 minutes tops.  I pour half into a 3-5 gallon bucket, turn my garden hose on high, and swirl it around and fluidize the sand so any debris or dust washes out and the water runs clear.  Then I repeat the same directly in the bag with the remainder.

Pool filter sand takes between 10-15 minutes with the same technique.  I end up with very little dust in the water either way.  This pic is my nanofish 100 G directly after adding substrate, planting, then filling.  And this was after the wood broke loose and floated.

 

[nabokovfan87]

On 4/18/2022 at 1:23 PM, Tihshho said:

Seachem Onyx Sand

If you can... share a photo of your substrate?

I am going to go grab one of mine. (seachem flourite dark / black but it's not the "sand" version)

These are both Seachem Flourite Black version.

The stuff from imagitarium is pretty cheap "black sand" but it's no where near what you would think of as sand. The other one I would use is the carib sea black tahitian sand (which I am pretty sure no longer exists due to metal contamination), but I would suggest running a magnet through it first.  Same thing with the black diamond blasting sand.

I am right there with you, I wish it was more black, but I do enjoy the seachem substrate so far.

Edit: Does anyone have experience with this brand / specific color?

https://www.amazon.com/Estes-Products-AES06606-Aquarium-5-Pound/dp/B004LOIIKA

Edited April 18, 2022 by nabokovfan87

[PineSong]

On 4/18/2022 at 6:09 PM, nabokovfan87 said:

Edit: Does anyone have experience with this brand / specific color?

https://www.amazon.com/Estes-Products-AES06606-Aquarium-5-Pound/dp/B004LOIIKA

I don't. I wonder about the polymer coating in that product--is that something that is typical in substrates? I've only used CaribSea SuperNaturals Peace River and Gemstone Creek (neither is remotely black) and was looking for a darker substrate for my tank that has yellow guppies in it as the gravel I have in there really washes them out. 

Edited April 19, 2022 by PineSong
Typo!

[Patrick_G]

On 4/18/2022 at 1:23 PM, Tihshho said:

Initially, I swore there were different course grades of poolfilter sand that had a dark silica/quartz but I can't seem to find it. When I was overseas I remember being able to snag 50lb bags of it for next to nothing. Perusing the local hardware and big box stores with garden supplies, I can't seem to find a fine dark gravel local. Even checked out a few quarries to see what they had available and the closest thing they had to the right size w

I have found at last two different sizes of pool filter sand at Ace hardware The larger grain is really attractive in my opinion. I have a few close up pics in my 75 gal journal. 

On 4/18/2022 at 3:01 PM, Odd Duck said:

Weird.  I’ve had no problems at all washing out an entire bag of BDBS within about 20 minutes tops.

Sometimes it feels like a lot longer!  I've had the same experience except I pour it into a clean garbage can and then use more or less the same procedure. 20 min tops. 

When I fill a new tank I do it VERY slowly. Like maybe a gallon per min. I've never had any cloudy water using these two techniques. 

[Patrick_G]

@Tihshho, have you looked at Safe T Sorb? I have used it yet but it's on my list. 

[nabokovfan87]

On 4/18/2022 at 5:05 PM, PineSong said:

I don't. I wonder about the polymer coating in that produce--is that something that is typical in substrates? I've only used CaribSea SuperNaturals Peace River and Gemstone Creek (neither is remotely black) and was looking for a darker substrate for my tank that has yellow guppies in it as the gravel I have in there really washes them out. 

Sounds like the imagitarium stuff where it's smaller gravel chunks with acrylic or whatever type of colorant on the rocks. If you're trying to have something natural, small polished black (dark grey) river stones can be had in the garden section. Just be careful to not crack the glass when adding to the aquarium.

If you can post a picture of the darkest one you have so we can get an idea as well 🙂

On 4/18/2022 at 6:00 PM, Patrick_G said:

I have found at last two different sizes of pool filter sand at Ace hardware The larger grain is really attractive in my opinion. I have a few close up pics in my 75 gal journal

Very much agreed.

[Tihshho]

On 4/18/2022 at 5:42 PM, Fish Folk said:

The Active Flora substrate comes is very different colors. What's odd to me is that each color is a VERY different consistency. The red / gold substrate pieces are much larger. The Black is quite fine by contrast -- much finer than Eco Complete -- but not "sand" either.

My LFS Ordered a bunch of black for us. But the supplier didn't pay attention and sent in a load of different colors. We began examining the differences, and feel like each color is a totally different type of substrate.

Have you had luck with this while having inverts? Supposedly there is a copper as part of the makeup of the substrate. I actually found that from an old post of yours from 2021.

On 4/18/2022 at 9:00 PM, Patrick_G said:

I have found at last two different sizes of pool filter sand at Ace hardware The larger grain is really attractive in my opinion. I have a few close up pics in my 75 gal journal. 

Do you remember what brand it was? The last stuff I got from Ace was finer. The issue in general with most PFS is that it's going to be very bright.

On 4/18/2022 at 9:06 PM, Patrick_G said:

@Tihshho, have you looked at Safe T Sorb? I have used it yet but it's on my list. 

I've used Akadama which is a similar makeup of Safe T Sorb in the past. The issue is that it's not exactly inert, and that's what I'm going for this round. Ideally, I'm after a hard substrate, nothing soft or pellet form.

On 4/18/2022 at 6:09 PM, nabokovfan87 said:

If you can... share a photo of your substrate?

This is the Onyx substrate. It's brighter in the picture than in person, but it's a darker slate blue/gray. I really enjoy it in tanks I've put it in.

Edited April 19, 2022 by Tihshho

[Fish Folk]

@Tihshho regarding copper in the ActivFlora substrate, and it's potential harm to invertebrates (e.g. neocaridina) I'm honestly not qualified to give you a solid answer. My instinct isn't always a great guide for others, but I think I'd probably not personally worry too much about it. Spend time on forums about this topic though, and people are all over the place. Some insist that 4 ppm copper is where everything starts to break down. If I'm reading that Activ Flora substrate label right, looks like there might be 17 ppm (maybe I'm way off). But there's still so many questions . . . who knows. I'd much rather hear from aquarists who use ActivFlora with shrimp successfully. Hopefully you're getting lots of other good options here too though! 

[Tihshho]

On 4/18/2022 at 10:07 PM, Fish Folk said:

@Tihshho regarding copper in the ActivFlora substrate, and it's potential harm to invertebrates (e.g. neocaridina) I'm honestly not qualified to give you a solid answer. My instinct isn't always a great guide for others, but I think I'd probably not personally worry too much about it. Spend time on forums about this topic though, and people are all over the place. Some insist that 4 ppm copper is where everything starts to break down. If I'm reading that Activ Flora substrate label right, looks like there might be 17 ppm (maybe I'm way off). But there's still so many questions . . . who knows. I'd much rather hear from aquarists who use ActivFlora with shrimp successfully. Hopefully you're getting lots of other good options here too though! 

I'm definitely going to dig into this. Since I do keep inverts I don't like to use copper based products unless it's limited to QT. I'd also hate to setup a tank and limit future stocking later.

[nabokovfan87]

On 4/18/2022 at 6:43 PM, Tihshho said:

This is the Onyx substrate. It's brighter in the picture than in person, but it's a darker slate blue/gray. I really enjoy it in tanks I've put it in.

ah interesting! Then perhaps you just need the "black" version of the substrate I showed off? 

[Tihshho]

On 4/18/2022 at 10:20 PM, nabokovfan87 said:

ah interesting! Then perhaps you just need the "black" version of the substrate I showed off? 

Definitely considering it. Does the substrate 'squish' like the normal Flourite when it gets older? Or is it solid? The issue I have had with Flourite in the past is that it's just a mess to deal with. 

[nabokovfan87]

On 4/18/2022 at 7:22 PM, Tihshho said:

Definitely considering it. Does the substrate 'squish' like the normal Flourite when it gets older? Or is it solid? The issue I have had with Flourite in the past is that it's just a mess to deal with. 

I can record a video if you want. It feels like a clay or something like that, softer then a hard rock but "solid" so to speak. It feels like normal gravel right now. Tank is setup for just under a year at this point.
 

 

Edited April 19, 2022 by nabokovfan87

[nabokovfan87]

On 4/18/2022 at 7:22 PM, Tihshho said:

Does the substrate 'squish' like the normal Flourite when it gets older?

Just checked mine, it feels like normal gravel. no squish at this time.

[Tihshho]

On 4/19/2022 at 4:27 PM, nabokovfan87 said:

Just checked mine, it feels like normal gravel. no squish at this time.

Thanks! I had a feeling it was another volcanic rock product, and even Corvus mentioned it in the video. I'll take a look at a few pictures of others tanks with it to make sure it's the look I'm after. Originally, I wanted to go with darker browns and blacks with some Lapis Lustre, but I can't get it locally anymore. Due to that I'm shifting gears into the pricer (in comparison) substrates for aquaria. 

[Patrick_G]

On 4/18/2022 at 6:43 PM, Tihshho said:

Do you remember what brand it was? The last stuff I got from Ace was finer. The issue in general with most PFS is that it's going to be very bright.

Does HTH sound right? 
 

I looked it up and it was HTH, I’ve bought three bags off the shelf, two were medium and one was fine grain. They are quite bright. 

Edited April 20, 2022 by Patrick_G

[Tihshho]

On 4/19/2022 at 8:28 PM, Patrick_G said:

Does HTH sound right? 
 

I looked it up and it was HTH, I’ve bought three bags off the shelf, two were medium and one was fine grain. They are quite bright. 
 

HTH sounds about right. I didn't know they offered a coarser grain. I'll have to look into it for other tanks. 

[Patrick_G]

On 4/19/2022 at 7:15 PM, Tihshho said:

HTH sounds about right. I didn't know they offered a coarser grain. I'll have to look into it for other tanks.

There wasn’t a choice, but the sand in two of the bags were clearly coarser. 

[Tihshho]

I found a product called JBL Manado Dark which I think would be perfect. Sadly, it doesn't look like it's available in the US. Anyone used this product before?

[Tanked]

If 1/4" is not too coarse for you, Bonsai Jack offers 1/4" horticultural lava rock.  

[Bev C]

I have had the same experience as @Odd Duck  with Black Diamond  Blasting Sand ,, I really had no problems washing it  I washed 3 bags  when i got my new tank before getting into to plants  The key is not be in a hurry washing it the whole bag at one time  divided it and wash and use hot  water not cold water i divided mine and wash till it was clean  and then repeat ,, the hotter water you use the better it washes 

But when I got into plants  i changed it a bit my tank went bottomless for a month till i was done i kept my sponge filter, rocks and couple pantyhose  bags of some of the old black diamond  in the tank till i was done i did not do it all at one time since i had one tank and fish already i did in sections i removed the black diamond and put   1-3 inches of Seachem Flourite Black Sand down then rewash the Black Diamond re- add and cap it on top of Seachem sand I did not have problems washing either one ,,,

But when i bought my Seachem sand my guy at my Fish shop told me to not was all the bag at one time that is where people leads to problems i still had some cloudiness in the tank from Seachem but not too bad better the next day 

Edited April 21, 2022 by Bev C

[Tihshho]

The issue I had with BDBS is the oil slick that seemed to be persistent. I could soak overnight after doing some rinses and I'd still get the oil slick at the top of the soaking bucket. Days of soaking and rinsing I still had some oil film that pushed me to make the call on bailing from the substrate for the tank it was intended. Just to be safe the bucket was also retired from fish use. From my understanding BDBS is a coal based media that can/has gone through some pretty caustic chemical cleaning and depending on the batch and coal source. Everyone will always various results when cleaning it. With the experience I had, I personally won't be using the substrate again.