Ap700 with black sand video?

[orbitee2015]

Hi all,

Need some help. I just ordered the ap700 switching back from T5. ( i gotta have the shimmer).

My question is how is the shimmer effect with black sand?

I cant find any videos. Just thinking maybe i should switch out the sand to white if im gonna loose alot of shimmer.

Please let me know if you have had experience.

Thanks so much!!

 

[mcarroll]

You will lose some reflectance off the bottom, but I'm not sure how I could see that changing your decision if you want black sand. At worst it means you run the lights 5-10% brighter. In reality I doubt it'll be noticeable.

Having said that, I assume you've had black sand before and/or are selecting it for its darkness? It does make a tank look different than a white sand tank. Pretty similar in look to a bare bottom tank, so maybe look at more of those?

 

[orbitee2015]

I have black sand now. I like it although it does show alot but i really dont want to go through the breakdown to switch to white unless i really loose the shimmer.

Thanks for your reply :)

 

[mcarroll]

The shimmer comes from lensing effects on the lights caused by waves at the surface of the water, so you wouldn't see a difference there.

It's really not that hard to switch sand, so I wouldn't sweat it too much.....just see if you like it. If not, siphon out the black over the course of 4 or 5 water changes.