Tahitian Moon Sand

[BrianBerg]

Hi all- I'm getting back into the dwarf cichlid hobby. I'm looking to set up a small rack of tanks. I have some silica sand, but I am wondering if I could mix a black sand with it to darken it under the lights. The LFS has Black Tahitian Moon Sand. I need to know if it is too sharp for dwarves to sift it. I might take on some geophagines as well. The silica comes out so bright under the lights. There has to be a better way. Thanks, Brian

 

[Mike Wise]

This sand is like Hawaiian black sand, composed of sand-sized particals of volcanic basalt. This is softer than silica and wears away quickily (in a geological sense) so you only find it close to its volcanic source. These sands commonly have shell fragments mixed in with the basalt sand. These can harden water, so it is best if you check for it by putting some of the sand in some HCl (buy some Muriatic acid at a hardware store; it's an industrial grade HCl) and see how it reacts.