Tank is still top 3 best tanks I’ve ever seen. I like the black sand. You can always add the sand in net bags & place it somewhere in the pumps below the tank. Whatever you decide to do tank will still be 🔥
Black substrate will add some photo-studio effect, it means your fish will looks more colorfull when the light is turn on.. so i agree with the aragonite on sump filter idea..
Tank looks great 👍..how do you keep you background so clean ? I got a aquadecor and it algae's up quite quick ! I got frontosa ,so lights are on quite low !
Thank you. As for the algae, I have a very efficient continuous drip system on this tank. Because of this, my phosphate level is extremely low to almost non existent. The combination of this and two Plecos leaves the tank extremely clean and clear of algae. My lights are on for 6 hours a day.
Thanks for the reply..a drip system is a no go as my tanks in my living room..i will pick up a phosphate test kit and see what level.its at.. What type of plecs you got in there ? Do you manage to get food to them ? Cheers
I wouldn't do it. Instead, I would bag the aragonite and put it in the sump where water was forced to flow through it. That's what I did in the sump under my 210 and it works very well. Just make sure the water can't flow around the bags or it will. Keep the black substrate, it looks amazing. And, buffering the sump is more effective because you have greater water flow.
Yes I agree with the bagging and sump idea., I use to do it with crushed coral. I should have mentioned that in the video that this was another option I was thinking of. I appreciate your input in this!
Man your 3D background is awesome. Work of art. I would love to make one for myself. I have seen your previous video of making the backgrounds. What saw and paint did you use to make the background?
@@loki8686 I mixed it in the cement and applied it in different layers. You will need to coat the entire thing in pond armor pond shield to seal it so it is not harmful to the fish and also to protect the coating. If not, you will have issues.
Hey nice set up! What exactly do you mean they are flashing on the sand? I'm about to order my first batch of africans for my 210. Any tips help thanks!
I decided against it. I changed it over on my 120 cichlid tank to see what it would look like and it is just not as impressive looking as the black sand IMO. I’ll be changing that tank back over to black sand.
@@Jetblink619 Good to know. I will be upgrading my tank soon so I will test out this change in the meantime. I have a black background too and I think it just dulls out a lot of the colors of my fish. My young Nigriventer is like straight black right now
@@coachalecholler ah ok I see. My 3D background is pretty light grey so it is a good contrast with the black and still keeps the tank bright. The bright colors of my fish really pop against the black sand so for now I will just stick with the black on my setups. Good luck with the new build 👍
Hi bro, i am new to your channel.. so.. may i know what your tank size is? Like length wide or height? I considering to make a tank like your size.. thanks for the help
So which sand color do you like more the black or the aragonite? Which makes rhe color of your Cichlids pop more. I have the aragonite myself but j was wondering if black would make them pop more. Thanks
I actually just changed this tank over to aragonite and will post a vid of it this week. I really liked the black and made the colors pop….but it was a darker overall look to the tank and wanted a change. The aragonite makes everything brighter of course and is a different look. Not sure yet which one I like more yet….still getting use to the change.
@@Jetblink619 I have the aragonite with light brown to pearl rocks or stones. So to me that seems a little all to light. What's your instagram account I can send you some photos
I use Black Diamond blasting sand. I have been using it for years on multiple tanks and it is really nice. I get mine from my local Tractor Supply company and is around $10 for a 50lb. bag. Great stuff.
I decided to keep it black for the time being….one of the reasons being that I’ve been busy and it’s a big project. My experience in the last 30 years of keeping AC….no changes in color with using different colors of substrate.
@@Jetblink619 interesting, i have pink fiji in my 210 AC. thinking about switching to black substrate since im redoing the tank. thought i would go dark this time round n was wondering if the fish will be any brighter. i notice that some ppl say yea n some say no difference. i dont really wanna use black diamond since i wanna keep my ph up so might go with caribsea zack black. but its not as dark as i want so
So did you change yours to black now? I am thinking of going with black my self buy only for the color change of the Cichlids. But of its not a big difference in the color change of the Cichlids then I would stay with the aragonite. Thanks for any help
Yeah I changed mine to black zack aragonite... not sure exactly who ur asking me or onemorefish but I love it. Don't really notice much difference in the fish per say but the tank might need Brighter light now from the dark substrate n black background. It just seems a little dim imo compared to my other tanks with white sand
It's really good to see you back.
I've been waiting to see how the 300 and the breeding room were going
Thanks for that! I took a short hiatus there with life being busy but am happy to get back into making more vids again.
More to come!
I would say, you have beautiful fish and that more videos are overdue. It will very very beautiful with light colored sand.
My favorite set-up ❤
Glad you stuck with the black sand.
Tank is still top 3 best tanks I’ve ever seen. I like the black sand. You can always add the sand in net bags & place it somewhere in the pumps below the tank. Whatever you decide to do tank will still be 🔥
Thanks so much! May end up sticking with the black for a few reasons…one being not to upset the tank and risk fish loss. Thanks for your support 👍
Tank is amazing, I think it'll look the bomb with white sand.
Beautiful tank. I switched substrates a few weeks ago it was a pain but my Africans seem to love the aragonite better than they did gravel.
Black substrate will add some photo-studio effect, it means your fish will looks more colorfull when the light is turn on.. so i agree with the aragonite on sump filter idea..
Correct. Gives the fish a high def look.
Real nice! How many fish , and what are dimensions of your beautiful tank?
Thank you.
6ft long, 3ft front to back, 28” tall
Tank is looking awesome, I would go with it, your choice but think a good one
Beautiful tank❤️
Dude amazing
Tank looks great 👍..how do you keep you background so clean ? I got a aquadecor and it algae's up quite quick ! I got frontosa ,so lights are on quite low !
Thank you.
As for the algae, I have a very efficient continuous drip system on this tank. Because of this, my phosphate level is extremely low to almost non existent. The combination of this and two Plecos leaves the tank extremely clean and clear of algae.
My lights are on for 6 hours a day.
Thanks for the reply..a drip system is a no go as my tanks in my living room..i will pick up a phosphate test kit and see what level.its at..
What type of plecs you got in there ? Do you manage to get food to them ? Cheers
I wouldn't do it. Instead, I would bag the aragonite and put it in the sump where water was forced to flow through it. That's what I did in the sump under my 210 and it works very well. Just make sure the water can't flow around the bags or it will. Keep the black substrate, it looks amazing. And, buffering the sump is more effective because you have greater water flow.
Yes I agree with the bagging and sump idea., I use to do it with crushed coral. I should have mentioned that in the video that this was another option I was thinking of. I appreciate your input in this!
Man your 3D background is awesome. Work of art. I would love to make one for myself. I have seen your previous video of making the backgrounds. What saw and paint did you use to make the background?
I use a professional grade hot knife, for the paint…I use Quickrete cement pigments.
@@Jetblink619 thank you buddy! So did you apply the cement on the foam and then brush finished it with the pigment?
@@loki8686 I mixed it in the cement and applied it in different layers. You will need to coat the entire thing in pond armor pond shield to seal it so it is not harmful to the fish and also to protect the coating. If not, you will have issues.
@@Jetblink619 I would have totally missed it. Thanks man! I will try this. Hopefully I can make it as good as yours lol
Tank still looks good
Hey nice set up! What exactly do you mean they are flashing on the sand? I'm about to order my first batch of africans for my 210. Any tips help thanks!
Every once in a while some of them will scratch/flash on the sand bed. This behavior can be a handful of different things really
I am doing the same thing right now. Changing my hap tank from black sand to aragonite
I decided against it. I changed it over on my 120 cichlid tank to see what it would look like and it is just not as impressive looking as the black sand IMO.
I’ll be changing that tank back over to black sand.
@@Jetblink619 Good to know. I will be upgrading my tank soon so I will test out this change in the meantime. I have a black background too and I think it just dulls out a lot of the colors of my fish. My young Nigriventer is like straight black right now
@@coachalecholler ah ok I see. My 3D background is pretty light grey so it is a good contrast with the black and still keeps the tank bright. The bright colors of my fish really pop against the black sand so for now I will just stick with the black on my setups. Good luck with the new build 👍
Hi bro, i am new to your channel.. so.. may i know what your tank size is? Like length wide or height? I considering to make a tank like your size.. thanks for the help
300 gallons, 6ft long, 3ft front to back, 29” tall
@@Jetblink619 Thanks
Caribsea has black eco complete aragonite. I’m doing opposite in my 180, going from white and Sahara sand aragonite to black.
So which sand color do you like more the black or the aragonite? Which makes rhe color of your Cichlids pop more. I have the aragonite myself but j was wondering if black would make them pop more. Thanks
I actually just changed this tank over to aragonite and will post a vid of it this week. I really liked the black and made the colors pop….but it was a darker overall look to the tank and wanted a change. The aragonite makes everything brighter of course and is a different look. Not sure yet which one I like more yet….still getting use to the change.
@@Jetblink619 I have the aragonite with light brown to pearl rocks or stones. So to me that seems a little all to light. What's your instagram account I can send you some photos
Where do you get your fish
I have bred and raised the majority of the fish in this tank from fry.
A couple of the Haps you see like the large albino comp I bought from my LFS.
I'd just put aragonite in the sump, which is what I do.
What kind of sand do you have now? Only thing I could find in black before was colored quartz in black.
I use Black Diamond blasting sand. I have been using it for years on multiple tanks and it is really nice. I get mine from my local Tractor Supply company and is around $10 for a 50lb. bag. Great stuff.
Pls tell me which color subtrate is best for malawi cichleds
It’s all personal preference
have you changed over your substrate yet? if so, have you noticed any difference in the color of the fish?
I decided to keep it black for the time being….one of the reasons being that I’ve been busy and it’s a big project.
My experience in the last 30 years of keeping AC….no changes in color with using different colors of substrate.
@@Jetblink619 interesting, i have pink fiji in my 210 AC. thinking about switching to black substrate since im redoing the tank. thought i would go dark this time round n was wondering if the fish will be any brighter. i notice that some ppl say yea n some say no difference. i dont really wanna use black diamond since i wanna keep my ph up so might go with caribsea zack black. but its not as dark as i want so
So did you change yours to black now? I am thinking of going with black my self buy only for the color change of the Cichlids. But of its not a big difference in the color change of the Cichlids then I would stay with the aragonite. Thanks for any help
Yeah I changed mine to black zack aragonite... not sure exactly who ur asking me or onemorefish but I love it. Don't really notice much difference in the fish per say but the tank might need Brighter light now from the dark substrate n black background. It just seems a little dim imo compared to my other tanks with white sand
@@tankboss5.951 asking you as well. What's your IG so I can see the difference in your tank set up
Just put arogonite in filtration system
Nooooo keep the black
Undecided at the moment, I do like the color contrast with the black sand for sure.
@@Jetblink619 Check Out My Tank On My Channel I Have All Black I’ll Be Posting A New Video Soon