White sand

[Byron]

Hi! I have pale pool filter sand in my 55 gallon tank and Caribsea super naturals crystal river in my 10 gallon tank. Here are photos for reference. I personally feel like the caribsea sand is a little bright but not too bad. I love the pool filter sand, but it does come with some random color little flecks mixed inView attachment 136221View attachment 136222

When your surface plants fill in, this will improve, and the fish will colour up a lot. The plants on the surface obviously shade the lower water area, which forest fish do appreciate. Again, let's look at their habitats...none of them are found in open water, meaning watercourses not overshadowed by marginal vegetation or floating plants. And for half the year, when they move inland to spawn, they are swimming in flooded forest which never sees the sun or moon light.

 

[Byron]

Yeah, probably going with play sand. Get 50lbs for $5. Better than the $25 for 20lbs I paid for the white sand...

Home Depot and Lowe's carry Quikrete Play Sand which is (in my humble opinion) probably the best sand you can get, without going to a natural river and collecting sand--but that means collecting other undesirables perhaps, and depending upon the river, the sand may or may not be as "processed" by hundreds of thousands of years of grinding as we would like it to be. Up here above you in BC they have the dark grey, not sure what specific US stores may carry but some have the buff tone and some the dark grey.

 

[Byron]

I guess they are most used to it being in shallow bays with sun and sand? I guess most tropical fish maybe like the plants and muddy sub strait and waters?

I referenced this in one of my recent posts above, but no harm to repeat. Most all (probably all) species of freshwater fish we keep that are forest fish--by which I mean the characins, most cyprinids, catfish--are never found in "open" water, meaning water open to the sky and thus the sun during day and moon at night. Overhanging marginal vegetation and/or floating plants provide quite deep shade, and this is where we always find the fish. During the wet season the forest floods for six months and fish move inland to spawn and live as food (insects and their larvae) are plentiful, and the sun and moon never even penetrate the forest canopy so the fish are in very dim waters.

 

[OliveFish05]

When your surface plants fill in, this will improve, and the fish will colour up a lot.

Yes, it has improved greatly since adding some new plants!

Another photo to show the difference, after adding new plants

 

[Fishfinder1973]

Fish will also change colour in accordance to water clarification too.Their colours may appear washed out in dirty,milky water,so if you want to see your fish in perfect colour condition it’s imperative to keep the water gin clear.
There are two main goals of any fish,avoid being eaten and breeding.The latter can make fish appear dumb beyond belief,as they throw caution to the wind,but when it comes to predation they can be as cunning as a light house rat.
The clearer the water,the more they will have to blend in with their surroundings,therefore the more their colours will come out.
Try putting a circle of white sand in the middle of the aquarium and see how they avoid swimming over it.
Cover the whole bottom of the tank with white sand,where they can’t avoid it and you certainly won’t see the best of your fish.
Unless of course they are white fish haha

 

[Colin_T]

Then why do most saltwater tanks have white sand? Is it different for saltwater fish?

Marine sands are calcium based and usually white.
Marine fish come from areas without shady trees and lots of sunlight reaches them. However, as the light penetrates the deeper water, the intensity decreases quickly and 30 feet down, white sand isn't much of an issue. In a shallow aquarium it can be an issue. However, if you have lots of rock and corals in the tank, they shade the sand so it's not as much of an issue.

 

[Arthur11]

I have trouble with the sand in the tank, as it accumulates quite a bit of garbage. So I decided to get rid of the sand from the tank by using a gravel vacuum. The first step is to remove the fish from the tank and create a removal plan. After that, start sucking water from the original tank into the temporary tank. When there is sand left in the tank, my job now is to shovel until all the sand is removed from the tank. After all of them are removed, I try to suck up the rest until everything is gone. With that, the sand removal job is done. I can now add new sand and return the tank to its original state.

 

[Tacocat]

I have trouble with the sand in the tank, as it accumulates quite a bit of garbage. So I decided to get rid of the sand from the tank by using a gravel vacuum. The first step is to remove the fish from the tank and create a removal plan. After that, start sucking water from the original tank into the temporary tank. When there is sand left in the tank, my job now is to shovel until all the sand is removed from the tank. After all of them are removed, I try to suck up the rest until everything is gone. With that, the sand removal job is done. I can now add new sand and return the tank to its original state.

Why do you keep bringing up old threads? The OP of this thread might not even still use the server.

 

[FishHobby99]

My axies are in a tank that has white sand on one half & black on the other. They came to me secondhand in a 30 G hi with white sand. They blended into it, so I went with black on one side when I moved them to a 40 G long. They created a grey line in the center area. Too dark now, or I’d take a pic.

 

[NannaLou]

Why do you keep bringing up old threads? The OP of this thread might not even still use the server.

The OP hasn’t been online since 1st August

 

[Tacocat]

The OP hasn’t been online since 1st August

my point exactly

 

[FishHobby99]

I didn’t notice the date & don‘t mind. It‘s new to us newbies.

 

[Byron]

Many of us, myself included, posted in "old" threads particularly when first joining. I'm sure it is common. No harm done, provided we don't expect an answer and assume the forum members must be pretty rude for not answering. Someone usually points out the date, and we learn to check dates more. @Arthur11 don't worry.