Are there any naturally black aquarium gravels out there?

[SoveriegnR]

I hate the idea of using PAINTED gravel in my tank, but I want to use black, or at least very very dark gravel in my tank because of how bright my fish are and to showcase the beautiful rocks I got. I cannot for the life of me find a gravel that isn't painted black. I know black rocks exist in this world guys come-on why waste materials on PAINTING rocks when you can just get naturally black rocks and make a natural gravel???

So does anyone have a black gravel in mind? Does home Depot sell it? A pet store? where can I find this apparently very rare thing.

 

[mimiheart]

Hmm. Googling:

https://www.amazon.com/SubstrateSource-Natural-Black-Lava-Gravel/dp/B0046O2JJG

Or

Seachem - Flourite Black

 

[SoveriegnR]

Lava gravel huh? Interesting. Unfortunetly... for only 2 pounds 12$ is a bit... much.


I've heard both good and bad things with the flourite gravel and it's also quite expensive in comparison to how much you get. I need at least 3 20lb bags to give my tank around a 2" layer for plants, but I know I want some different substrate heights so I may need 4 bags and 20$ for a 15lb bag.. A dollar a pound is already a decent money dump but MORE THAN $1/lb is a little much.

It also looks a little... jagged. I'm worried about my Cory's sifting through that kind of gravel and possibly getting internal damage or even external. I know sand is ideally the best substrate but it just gets SO HEAVY when wet and I do not want to risk dumping sand down my drain pipes @_@ plus the risk of gas pockets.

I thank you for your reply though <3

 

[mimiheart]

I've got a combo of sand and the painted gravel, and my cories like it. So does my Raphael. (It was initially going to be just the sand. The sand matched my fish a bit too well.)

 

[sa1nt02]

40 lbs of black 2 pounds or white 2 pounds of red

 

[Toad]

www.homedepot.com/p/Mosser-Lee-5-lb-Black-Sand-Soil-Cover-1112/2059

The 'expert' says it shouldn't be used in aquariums but it's supposed to be silica sand so I'm not sure why he says that (It's a fine grain)

 

[GiantTrevally]

40 lbs of black 2 pounds or white 2 pounds of redView attachment 302383

That looks really good,what size is the tank?might go for something like this for my 55g tank as i want a black background and dark substrate but just plain black on black might look boring this really stands out!

 

[sa1nt02]

This is my 55g

 

[sa1nt02]

And sry I used 5lbs each of red and white

 

[GiantTrevally]

This is my 55g

Cool so i can use the same amounts you used,do you have any form of planting substrate underneath your gravel?

 

[sa1nt02]

No but all the live plants you see in there were tiny until I fertilized them so the gravel will be fine for.it

 

[GiantTrevally]

No but all the live plants you see in there were tiny until I fertilized them so the gravel will be fine for.it

So you just use just fertilizer and no planting substrate? Didnt know that worked!

 

[sa1nt02]

Ya but I used the tablets and put one for each plant underneath it