Dark Or Light Sand?

Im going to be setting up my tank in the next few weeks and I was interested in a black substrate, but Im not sure if its going to be good for my tank because its 23" deep. I imagine Ill have about 2-3" of sand so it will be more like 20" But I dont want to have trouble with getting the proper lighting to to all my livestock. My tank is a 37 gallon. the dimensions are 30x12x23. Would it be a bad choice if I went with the darker substrate as far as lighting goes, or would it not have that great of effect as I think it will be. Please share your experiences with both so I don't make a mistake and end up buying 60 lbs of live sand . Thanks for reading, everyone!

 

IMO black sand only looks good for a few months, then it starts to look dirty quick.

 

Going with science, dark colors absorb light, light colors reflect light. I have the black sand because it makes my corals and fish pop. Plus it adds more depth in the tank. Sand color really shouldn't matter. Its just a matter of choice.

 

+1... Sand color won't matter.

On another note, there's no advantage to buying 60 lbs of live sand. You can use much cheaper dry sand for the bulk, then add 1 small bag (or even just a cup!) of live sand to seed it.

 

And this isn't true of what sand I've used both, and would say black may show some dirt, but white shows dirt and turns browner. Seachem makes some grey sand that is a bit better than both IMO. I actually use a mix of black and white, which seems to show much less dirt than either. I do think white sand looks really nice in a new thank, but after that, goes down hill quick.

 

Thanks for the replies. Hehe by 60 pounds I meant 30 black and then 30 regular. Sorry i wasn't too clear.

Sounds like seeding the sand is a better idea than buy a bunch of live sand. Is there any type of sand you would recommend to first time saltwater owners? Im hearing aragonite because of something with the pH. If I didn't opt for the aragonite what type of additional pH maintenance am I looking at?

 

To some extent your right. i just think the tanks with black sand look dirtier to me. my choice is white sand but thats just how i roll, to each there own

 

i feel darker sand is more relaxing for fish because it makes them feel more hidden versus being on something that doesnt match their coat and exposes them

 

None at all.

FTR, people in this hobby do things simply because they heard somewhere that it's right or good without any proof or evidence whatsoever, and they spread what they heard as fact with the hope of helping others learn something new. It's for certain that aragonite will dissolve over a period of years and will need to be replenished. The actual buffering capability, however, is so minimal that it's completely insignificant to the average home aquarist. Here are a few facts to consider:

1) Once upon a time, all we had for substrate was silica sand. We had no issues with ph, or anything else for that matter.

2) Finally the UGF came along and made crushed coral popular. Still no buffering, and still no problems with ph.

3) The vast majority of those who do have issues with keeping ph in balance today are using aragonite sand, but either they thought it would allow them to overstock their tank or slack on maintenance, they have something leaching out of a rock, or they are dosing for stony corals and are not completely accurate with the amounts.

To sum it up, any sand will work. Some even still use silica-based play sand without any problems (although I've never seen black play sand ).

 

I have white sand in my 46 and it shows everything (dirt, cyano whatever, it'll show more) but the light reflects more giving it a brighter appearance than my 29 gal, which has black sand.

The black sand isn't truly black and is more of a dark gray (I have some chunkier black sand on top of the aragonite black sand). This tank has more lighting for the size than the 46 but doesn't appear as bright due to the sand not reflecting any light. I also think it hides any dirt/mess better than the white sand does.