Using Black Sand

[Sea Witch]

I'd like to ask about black sand. Correct me if I'm wrong, but the black sand is not calcium-based, it's volcanic rock.

So is it a problem if you don't have the buffering capacity of the calcium sands?

Is it still useful for a DSB?

And is it sharp-edged instead of round-edged? i.e. is it a problem for digging critters or fish like a jawfish?

I really like the way it looks, but I won't use it if it's harmful........

thanks

[ALang]

Don't think that it's sharp.
Watched a marine show on Raja Ampat, and some parts of their ocean floor is black volcanic sand. We saw critters and fish like jawfishes, ribbon eels, shrimps and burrowing squids etc doing just fine.
As for the buffering capacity, and Calcium/alkalinity levels, you can always dose bulk calcium and soda ash, using a couple of auto-dosers. More reliable anyway.
I think that black sand is great looking for a small tank.

[sphelps]

I used black sand before in fish only and everything did fine including a dragon goby that sifted. However it looked great at first but after a few months looked pretty crappy. I won't use it again.

[Leah]

I used it for my Seahorse tank and it was fine for awhile....but I had other tanks with white sand and it eventually got mixed with the black and I ended up pulling it out because of it.

[Diana]

I would love to experiment with a Big Island of Hawaii theme with black sand, black lava rock, blue background and a school of yellow tangs.

[freezetyle]

Originally Posted by sphelps

I used black sand before in fish only and everything did fine including a dragon goby that sifted. However it looked great at first but after a few months looked pretty crappy. I won't use it again.

i heard it got dirty really quick. you almost have to clean it as much as a bare bottom tank. Although, It does look really awesome. Check out "Youngster Dan" tank journal of his inverted 90 that he unfortunately had to pull down. It looked fantastic