henward Posted May 9, 2011 Author Report Share Posted May 9, 2011 the satin stuff is natural not the shiny stuff you get thats synthetic but just wondering \what type of rock is this is this the same charcoal grit from stone and water world just finely ground? i am going to need alot of these Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the-obstacle Posted May 9, 2011 Report Share Posted May 9, 2011 why is satin black not good for fish wtih barbels? Cories in particular have a habit of cutting their barbels up on sharp gravel/sand. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ice222 Posted May 10, 2011 Report Share Posted May 10, 2011 I thought cories prefer sand over gravel as long as the sand isn't sharp? By the way, how do you test if sand is sharp or not? just run your hand through some and see if it feels scratchy? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GZ_Loach Posted May 10, 2011 Report Share Posted May 10, 2011 normal sand is rounded off on the edges, sharp sand is more square. Also the finer it is the smoother/less sharp it will be. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sophia Posted May 10, 2011 Report Share Posted May 10, 2011 The only way I can tell sharp sand from smooth is comparing something like paving sand - gritty and unpleasant feeling - to silica sand or beach sand that feels softish. It's still sand after all and not velvet so still not the sort of thing you want to get trapped in your undies either way. If there is any differentiation between those 2 extremes I can't find it. Also I personally wouldn't use fine gravel when I could get fine sand as the instructions that come with cories say - "must have sand or smooth round stones". I have seen pictures of corys with damaged barbels and it ain't pretty so I think it isn't worth the risk. In short I would choose iron sand over black satin. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the-obstacle Posted May 10, 2011 Report Share Posted May 10, 2011 The trick is to find out if it's quarried sand or beach sand. Quarried sand is just rock that's been crushed small enough to be considered sand but it still feels like sand sized broken rocks ie. sharp. Beach sand has had hundreds of years of erosion to smooth it out making it round edged and not at all sharp. River sand is a hard one to call because often it comes from quarries which are digging up old river beds and thus claiming it's river sand but it's still sharp rock. At the same time sand can be collected from rivers which is actually smooth but it's usually found near the mouth of the river where it enters the sea / lake as it starts it's journey from the top of the river (or wherever it entered) as a little rock. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
henward Posted May 11, 2011 Author Report Share Posted May 11, 2011 i bought satin sand from petstuff looks amazing! sandy substrate, very fine and very very black and dark. obviously not as pitch black as iron sand but this is dark enough. very dark. look sgreat! i have set up my VIP tank, i will post pics soon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the-obstacle Posted June 6, 2011 Report Share Posted June 6, 2011 Got about 15-20kg of black iron sand from Muriwai today. It's BLACK! and looks awesome with the rocks I have. I'll be redoing the lounge display tank tomorrow (or maybe the next day now) so will post pics. I'll be testing the water parameters and doing multiple water changes over the next few weeks and if it's all good it'll be going in my big tank. Stoked! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
henward Posted June 6, 2011 Author Report Share Posted June 6, 2011 be careful for fish that dnt have iron sand as their habitat, it could cause problems, feedback i had is that they react to water when water becomes acidic. just a thought:D i didnt wanna take the risk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the-obstacle Posted June 6, 2011 Report Share Posted June 6, 2011 be careful for fish that dnt have iron sand as their habitat, it could cause problems, feedback i had is that they react to water when water becomes acidic. just a thought:D i didnt wanna take the risk The iron reacts to acidic water or the fish? The fish are used to acidic water but I'll be making sure it doesn't lower the PH at all. Hmmm, ok, I'll do some more research... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
henward Posted June 6, 2011 Author Report Share Posted June 6, 2011 i mean acidic water will react wtih iron sand not sure if its true but sounds plausible lol so didnt wanna risk it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GZ_Loach Posted June 6, 2011 Report Share Posted June 6, 2011 I don't see why it would, iron is present in almost all natural water supplys and is added to planted aquariums. My water supply is 3 parts per million iron and the is ph 6.3 at the source, not quite as high at my tap because of the filters but still very high and have had fish for about 4-5 years now and no suspicous deaths. I don't have iron sand, just black silica and black satin sand, My water supply is whats high in iron. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
henward Posted June 6, 2011 Author Report Share Posted June 6, 2011 fair enough i just wasnt willing to take it after hhearing things. you have been using iron sand for 4 to 5 years? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the-obstacle Posted June 19, 2011 Report Share Posted June 19, 2011 Here's my tank with Muriwai black sillica in it. The water is stable and there seems to be no issues what so ever. I've put a sword in there to see if the iron helps it colour up at all (which I'm not sure it will). Under the lights it looks kind of golden / brown but it's black to the eye in the room with it. Should have cleaned the kitchen... :facepalm: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sunbird73 Posted June 20, 2011 Report Share Posted June 20, 2011 Looks great Do you have a GH tester? Would be interested to know if it hardens the water significantly. Thinking I might need to take a trip out to muriwai .... ps. your kitchen looks normal to me Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the-obstacle Posted June 20, 2011 Report Share Posted June 20, 2011 Actually, I don't have a GH tester. It's probably something I should invest in. The fish are in and seem happy enough for having just been caught and introduced to a new tank. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sophia Posted June 20, 2011 Report Share Posted June 20, 2011 Looks great Do you have a GH tester? Would be interested to know if it hardens the water significantly. Thinking I might need to take a trip out to muriwai .... ps. your kitchen looks normal to me I have the Gh and Kh test kit and the sand water was not different, or not by much. I tested buckets of sand water and water and tank water black sand looks good Dan - is it blacker than mine was under the lights? I think there is a gold tinge to yours, it isn't black-black like the background Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sunbird73 Posted June 20, 2011 Report Share Posted June 20, 2011 Awesome, muriwai here I come Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Li@m Posted June 20, 2011 Report Share Posted June 20, 2011 My mate got some from lake Taupo, Black it sure is although it is quite sparkly, but it hasn't leached anything. ill try get a pic Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the-obstacle Posted June 20, 2011 Report Share Posted June 20, 2011 I have the Gh and Kh test kit and the sand water was not different, or not by much. I tested buckets of sand water and water and tank water black sand looks good Dan - is it blacker than mine was under the lights? I think there is a gold tinge to yours, it isn't black-black like the background Yeah, I think it is darker than yours, or mine has less of the brown mixed in it? The last lot I got from Muriwai was really brown but this lot I got from a different area. The background is matt black paint and it's not that black under light but it's definitely dark. The fish are loving it and I've never seen the cardinals and black neons looking so vibrant. Awesome, muriwai here I come I'll race you If you go to the dog walking area down the end of the road past the golf club, next to where the horses are parked and ridden onto the beach, there's a big dune along the river outlet (if you find the river you'll find the dune) which is where I got this batch from. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the-obstacle Posted June 20, 2011 Report Share Posted June 20, 2011 My mate got some from lake Taupo, Black it sure is although it is quite sparkly, but it hasn't leached anything. ill try get a pic I'd be interested to know if it's as smooth/fine as this stuff. This is as fine if not finer than the white silica I've had. It's heavier too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joshlikesfish Posted June 20, 2011 Report Share Posted June 20, 2011 I'd be interested to know if it's as smooth/fine as this stuff. This is as fine if not finer than the white silica I've had. It's heavier too. That was from lake taupo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GZ_Loach Posted June 20, 2011 Report Share Posted June 20, 2011 looks like the black satin stuff Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
burrowssj Posted June 20, 2011 Report Share Posted June 20, 2011 some nice looking tanks there :thup: . I use Iron sand from greymouth beach, been there twice an have about 40kgs of it. always rinsed it before use and never had any issues or fish losses with it and my ph sits the same as when I used the white silica sand (chch well water) Don't see why it would be bad for fish unless the beach was contaminated? should be almost neutral because its from the beach? I think you'll find ph shock would be the cause of any related deaths from substrate, e.g taking it from a ph of 6 to a ph of unsettled 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peet Posted July 31, 2011 Report Share Posted July 31, 2011 Hey Joshlikesfish, where in Taupo did your mate get the sand?? I am looking for a sand thats dark...but not brown like the Daltons propogating mix. I actually got a beautiful white sand from a local lake whilst hunting...looked really suspicious two grown men with guns on their backs carrying out bags of sand and no deer But the sand turned out to be a pumice sand and is so light that a fish only has to flick its tail to dislodge nearby plants...... Do you have any better photos of the sand... does anyone have photos of the raglan sand, might head over there this week for a surf and pick up some sand Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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