hey guys!! Ive got a 29 gal tank with four rusty sprenge, a few kribensis, 2 algae eaters, and a syndontis upterus. i want to put sand in it but i dont know how to go about doing so. Ive got like a pearl color gravel now but it seems kinda bright for the cichlids it doesnt really bring out their colors. I was looking for a dark color sand, doesnt have to be black. I know people use play sand from like home depot and stuff but my friend who has been in the hobby put it in his 40 gal with some africans and the tank was REALLY high in alkalinity and ive heard its due to the play sand b/c of the metals in it. well i just want to get some ideas for what kind of sand to put in there and how should i put in the sand. i would really appreciate some expert advice on what to do and not to do.

thanks
joe

I put sand in my tank whitch I got from the LFS, i think it was called crushed corel sand.
I have seen a tank with black sand in it with african cichlids and man it looked tops! the colors really came out! You can get that at your LFS as well but it costs abit.
If you do end up doing it please post some pics.

i just use really small black gravel and my three spot gourami is soo beautiful, the tail is showing coloration like that of a peacock bass

so u guys are saying i should put a black sand prolly tahitan moon or sumthin then. but the fish i have are iodotropheus sprenge and they are a rust color with blue/purple stomachs.

its all up to you, im actually just saying if you want to get the colors out, then black gravel would work just fine,

( besides i couldn't understand what u just said, lol)

Hi tennisplayer404!

Alkalinity and metal content are unrelated. "Play sand" is mostly silica and should be relatively inert.

Most metals are very toxic to fish, and should be avoided in the home aquarium....Titanium seems to be an exception to this rule however...

To raise the alkalinity (The fish you have like hard, alkaline water), you can use rocks/media that contains calcium carbonate. Limestone, marble, coral skeletons and arogonite all are excellent materials for helping to buffer your tank.

If you do use "play sand" make sure you rinse the holy hell out of it, as it is quite dusty and often has non sand debris in it...

thanks for the ideas and info guys. so what type of sand should i put in there then? i mean the fish i have their colors are brown and purple/blue. so i thout the sand color should be like a dark brown, but i would also like something to buffer the ph and alkalinity. ive got flagstone in there now and idk if thats got any type of buffer in it.