# Tahitian Mood Sand Question



## theteh (Jan 19, 2006)

Is TMS completely 100% black sand or does it have speckes of non-black particles too? I am thinking to buy this for my new shrimp-only tank with low light plants. I would like to have 100% solid black sand as substrate and I am currently researching on it, so anyone seen or used this substrate before could you please kindly share your experience with me?


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## John N. (Dec 11, 2005)

I've seen it in the store in the bags. It looks a little on a dark grey side, not completely black. But that might change if it gets wet. I assume Eco Complete (black substrate) is not available in your neck of the woods.
Hopefully someone whose used or seen it wet in the tank can give you a better perspective. But I think it will look like a dark, dark grey.

-John N.


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## AaronT (Apr 26, 2004)

I'm not sure if they have it in the UK or not, but 3M makes a product called color quartz sand that comes in pure black. They sell it here in the States for $25 for a 50lb. bag and it works great. Make sure you get the T-grade if you can find it. www.3m.com. I am using this myself and it is definitely black.


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## theteh (Jan 19, 2006)

John- thanks for the message. I am actually using Eco Complete in my other planted tank. I like it very much for planting but it is too coarse for the shrimps. I need fine pure black sand for the shrimp tank.

AaronT-Thanks. I have heard of that quartz sand but unfortunately, we could hardly get eco-complete in the UK let alone the quartz!! Cannot seem to find the black quartz in the 3m website!?


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## AaronT (Apr 26, 2004)

It is not something you will find in an aquarium shop. http://solutions.3m.com/wps/portal/!ut/p/kcxml/04_Sj9SPykssy0xPLMnMz0vM0Q9KzYsPDdaP0I8yizeINzUz1C_IcFQEAHTt83Y!

You will want to call them and ask for a local supplier. The quartz sand is used to color the bottom of swimming pools. It works great as an aquarium sand and is safe for fish and plants. Also, it is very heavy and won't float around in the tank.


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## theteh (Jan 19, 2006)

Found the 3M page on ColorQuartz:
http://solutions.3m.com/wps/portal/!ut/p/kcxml/04_Sj9SPykssy0xPLMnMz0vM0Q9KzYsPDdaP0I8yizeINzUN1C_IcFQEALP4708!

The S-grade is fine and T-grade is medium. Would S-grade too fine for shrimps?


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## Krisybabe9 (Mar 21, 2006)

Have you thought about ADA aquasoil amazonia powder type? I haven't seen it in person but from what I have seen in pictures it looks like perfectly black fine particles.


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## theteh (Jan 19, 2006)

Thanks for the suggestion, I will look it up!


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## AaronT (Apr 26, 2004)

theteh said:


> Found the 3M page on ColorQuartz:
> http://solutions.3m.com/wps/portal/!ut/p/kcxml/04_Sj9SPykssy0xPLMnMz0vM0Q9KzYsPDdaP0I8yizeINzUN1C_IcFQEALP4708!
> 
> The S-grade is fine and T-grade is medium. Would S-grade too fine for shrimps?


No, I think the S-grade would be fine for shrimp. The T-grade is still very small itself. Our club is using the S-grade in a nano tank aquascaping contest right now and it seems to work just as well.


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## theteh (Jan 19, 2006)

Thanks for the info indeed. Unfortunately I cannot find anyone selling these sand in the UK


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## redstrat (Apr 3, 2006)

I have a thin layer of tahitian moon sand over flourite for my substrate in my high light tank. Its pretty fine grains but under the high light it doesn't look like its all pure black particals. There are some lighter almost green grains mixed with the pure black. I think I can only see this because my lighting is so bright. I've seen it in lower light situations and it looks a lot more solid black.

my two cents, for what its worth.


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## theteh (Jan 19, 2006)

Hi Davis

Thanks for the detailed description!! I actually found a cheaper alternative from LFS which is also black sand. I am going to try this out instead of the moon sand which cost several times more.


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## Jane in Upton (Aug 10, 2005)

I've bought Tahitian Moon black sand on two occasions. A few years ago, I set up my low-tech 30 gal with a clay/kitty litter underlayer and the Tahitian Moon sand. The "Quackenbush" style setup generally calls for a FINE sand as a "cap" on the clay/fertilized underlayer. 

That first batch was initially dusty, but only a bit more than other sands I'd used. It took about 4-5 rinses in small batches to get it un-dusty to my liking. There were/are some "grains" with more of a schard-like shape, and these seemed to have a longer flat surface that glinted. They had a glinty, silvery look, but it changed with the viewing angle. The sand itself wasn't actually a different color. With the growth of biofilm and such, this has lost its "glinty" look. 

A few months later, I set up another tank (20 H) in the same style. I bought the Tahitian Sand from a different, more local shop. It was definitely a different batch, and I was really surprised at how differently it behaved. It looked a lot more dark grey than black. Both bags of this second batch were HORRIBLY dusty. I had to delay the actual setup by a day, because it took more than twice as long to wash it adequately. It also did not have the same "glinty" look. This batch was more of a flat, or matte look. I've had more issues that could be compaction-related with this, too. Both were supposedly the "fine sand" - at the time, Tahitian moon was offered in two sizes, coarse sand and fine sand. 

I have not seen the coarse size lately. I've switched over my newer setups to a soil-underlayer (Walstad-style) setup, which uses a coarser top layer, so I've kept my eyes out for the coarser Tahitian Moon sand, to no avail. 

In terms of shrimp, I had a large colony of Red Cherry Shrimp going in the 30 gallon, and they realy looked nice against the black backdrop. Do be aware, however, that just like black slacks will show lint and cat hair exceptionally well (*grimace*) and a white rug will show dirt, the black substrate really shows off any mulm! Its also a bit lightweight, so if siphoning, you're bound to get a lot taken up - I wouldn't use a system that goes directly to a sink or drain. Even being very carful with just vinyl tubing siphoning by hand, I typically have to reclaim and add back about a cup of sand that winds up in the bucket. I used to get even more when it was a newer setup. 

Plants seem to really like the texture of this sand. I've had a "microsword" mat really take off, and great success with hairgrass. Even small, tough to plant things like glosso do well. Along the sides of the 20 H (semi-agressives like Botias and Angelfish), I ahve a couple of Aponogetons whose roots are a fine web visible along the glass. They also like the clay underlayer, but the roots are nicely visible in the black sand.

I like the product, overall. But, if the bag you're looking at looks particularly dusty, you might try a different store to see if they have a different batch. Its worth the gobs of time you'll save rinsing it. The first, larger batch I got was a "Pre-buy" - the guy normally didn't stock it, but I asked to get it wholesale, plus a fair markup, pre-paid, if he'd order it. No shelf time, no will-it-sell issue, so he was pleased to do it. I then moved before setting up that tank, so it travelled with me. 

Hope this answers some of your questions!
-Jane


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## Jane in Upton (Aug 10, 2005)

Oh, and Theteh, 

I'd look into whether this other sand product is a COLORED product or not. Tahitian Moon's big plus for me was that it is naturally black - probably basaltic sand (like from a black sand beach). Other products that I looked into at the time were resin-coated, or dyed. I was very wary about those, as a lot of dyes have heavy metals as a component. Shrimp are extremely sensitive to heavy metals, especially copper. I was looking at a colored reef sand, that was also safe for freshwater, but I couldn't find out any details on how it was colored. A nice and forthright LFS said that they'd used it for years, and after about 1.5 to 2 yrs, the color "wore off" a bit. That concerned me, so I went with the TMS.

-Jane


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## theteh (Jan 19, 2006)

Hi Jane,

Thank you for the detailed description of the moon sand and suggestions!! How do I tell if the black sand I bought is artificially coated or natural? It has been running in my tank for about 2 weeks now and it looks very slightly paler than before, not sure if it is just my imagination or they are really loosing colours, can't tell. Now that you mention artificial coating worries me!
I have not added shrimps yet so I could still have the chance to change it


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