# Other Aquarium Forums > Equipment and Accessories >  Sudo Bottom Sand vs Sudo Reef Sand!

## Urban Aquaria

I'm currently looking to setup a new tank for corydora fishes, so a fine sand base will be required. I narrowed my choice down to the Sudo brand sand... but i'm at a real dilemma, which color to choose?

Sudo Bottom Sand = Dark Brown
Sudo Reef Sand = Light Beige

So i ended up buying both!



I like the color of the reef sand as it contrasts well with brown driftwood and bogwood (which i plan to use) in the tank, bottom sand tends to be abit too similar in color to brown wood (unless the wood is really dark or black).

Bottom sand has pictures of corydoras on the bag, so its probably safe to assume that its designed for those fishes.  :Grin: 

I prefer reef sand but was worried that it is only suitable for marine tanks (based on the name). Some LFS owners say its inert and okay to use for freshwater tanks, while other LFS owners say cannot, so alot of conflicting info... in addition, i've also read threads on forum which also have mixed info too.



I used google translate to try and decipher the japanese text on the bags, all the instructions are the same and there is no warnings not to use them in any particular tank, the only different text are at the top.. which after processing through google translate to:

Sudo Bottom Sand = "Round corners lightly sand friendly fish that live on the bottom, such as corydoras..."

Sudo Reef Sand = "Beautiful natural sea sand to reproduce the natural leaf..."

Fair bit lost in translation, but i guess we can get the gist of it.  :Laughing: 

Anyways i wanted to see if there is really any difference in both types of sand and whether they affect water parameters, so i tested them both in cups with de-chlorinated water, 50ml of sand with 450ml of water (this has way higher sand to water ratio than in an actual tank so if there is going to be any effect on parameters, it will be much quicker and more noticeable).

I left them for 1 week, every day stirring the sand to simulate corydoras sifting through the sand substrate... then i tested their parameters:



Both registered the same pH of 6.8-7.0 (which is light blue-green on the pH solution), same as the original de-clorinated water. I went further to test for KH and GH, both also at 1-2 drop... again, same as the original water too.

Basically, the test showed that both sands were inert and didn't alter water parameters. My guess is both sands probably go through special pre-processing before being packaged.

Since both sands are inert and should be usable in freshwater tanks safely... its back to the original question, which color to choose?

Honestly, i've been staring at both bags of sand for the past week and still can't decide!

To all experienced corydoras owners out there, which color sand do you recommend? Any experiences to share on the pros and cons of each color?  :Smile:

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## limz_777

never use sudo sand before , but i will use the reef sand , look natural

but if you want the fish to stand out , reddish sand will be better

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## Urban Aquaria

> never use sudo sand before , but i will use the reef sand , look natural
> 
> but if you want the fish to stand out , reddish sand will be better


Thanks for your input!

I agree with your suggestions, the darker sand would make the fish colors stand out more, while although the lighter sand would look more natural and clearer, there is a chance the fish colors may look abit washed-out.

Decisions, decisions...  :Think:

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## joe

I've kept more than 300++ corydoras at one stage of my fish keeping craze in a 3ft tank and both sand will do fine. After you see the cories start digging, sand color matters the least  :Wink:

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## Urban Aquaria

> I've kept more than 300++ corydoras at one stage of my fish keeping craze in a 3ft tank and both sand will do fine. After you see the cories start digging, sand color matters the least


Haha... that's great, i shall go with that advice!  :Grin:

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## stormhawk

I'd go with the lighter colored sand. Previously, I was using this fine sand from Europet. IIRC, I bought that bag of sand from Petmart. It was by far the best looking sand I used for my Corydoras in the past. Only drawback with lighter sand is that you'll be looking at Corydoras poop scattered all over the place.  :Laughing:  There's also another sand from GEX that I was fiddling with. Looks great too. It's called Mutsu Sand. You can see it at GC in one of the tanks. The grit size is 0.3-0.8 mm. This other type called Mikawa Sand is also nice too for Cory tanks. Less fine but good looking.

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## cherabin

Very good information! I used to keep corydoras and dare to use only bottom sand due to the very reason you mentioned, the picture on the packaging. Reef sand seems to be a very interesting alternative option and that can be another consideration in the future should I keep corydoras again. 

Last but not least, keep us posted on your new project. I'm sure I'm not alone in wanting to see your work  :Smile:

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## Urban Aquaria

> I'd go with the lighter colored sand. Previously, I was using this fine sand from Europet. IIRC, I bought that bag of sand from Petmart. It was by far the best looking sand I used for my Corydoras in the past. Only drawback with lighter sand is that you'll be looking at Corydoras poop scattered all over the place.  There's also another sand from GEX that I was fiddling with. Looks great too. It's called Mutsu Sand. You can see it at GC in one of the tanks. The grit size is 0.3-0.8 mm. This other type called Mikawa Sand is also nice too for Cory tanks. Less fine but good looking.


Cool... thanks for the tips!




> Very good information! I used to keep corydoras and dare to use only bottom sand due to the very reason you mentioned, the picture on the packaging. Reef sand seems to be a very interesting alternative option and that can be another consideration in the future should I keep corydoras again. 
> 
> Last but not least, keep us posted on your new project. I'm sure I'm not alone in wanting to see your work


Will do!  :Smile:

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## Urban Aquaria

Quick update!

I've decided to go with Sudo Reef Sand as my tank substrate...



Quite a refreshing change from the dark brown ADA Aqua Soil substrate that i have been looking at over the past few months.

As you can see, i transferred the bogwood with fissidens from my 13 litre nano tank (which has since been decommissioned) over to this new tank... it'll be the current hard scape for the moment while i'm thinking about how to scape it further.

I also directly transferred over the Eden 501 canister filter too, so it now sits just below the tank on the bottom shelf of the rack.



Even though the canister filter holds well established bio media and most of the previous tank's items were carried over, the tank is currently being run initially with just a small group of cherry shrimps for another week to ensure and confirm that all the water parameters are stable, before i add in more fauna.



The lights i am using for this tank is the Up Aqua Z-Series Pro LED Z-15 / 45cm version.

It is still able to fit this 48cm width tank as the plastic holders on the sides can be adjusted abit wider to accommodate the tank's extra 3cm width.



This is the first time i'm using sand based substrate and i'm really starting to like the look of it!  :Smile: 

Thanks to everyone for their inputs and tips!

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## Shadow

Interesting, I would tough reef sand is for reef tank thus contain corral crust

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## Fujisasuke

I'm curious, what is the ph of your tank?

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## Urban Aquaria

> Interesting, I would tough reef sand is for reef tank thus contain corral crust


Yeah, i also thought so too, especially based on the "reef sand" name... but after testing, it seems to be more like cosmetic sand, probably its been processed to remove coral or shell bits. I guess Sudo named it reef sand mainly for its color, rather than for actual application.




> I'm curious, what is the ph of your tank?


The tank's pH is currently 7.0, around the same as my de-chlorinated tap water... at the moment there is nothing significant in the tank to buffer pH yet (the current bogwood has been "seasoned" for a few months already so i guess its pH effects are minimal).

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## AhVy

Have you thought about mixing both? Maybe you'll be surprised! 


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## Urban Aquaria

> Have you thought about mixing both? Maybe you'll be surprised!


Good idea!

I just tested it out, mixed equal parts of both bottom sand and reef sand, the result was still quite brown. 

So i increased the reef sand portion to double the ratio, then the mix started turning into a noticeable lighter brown... though if i looked very closely, i can still see the separate grains of different colored sands.

Quite interesting, i guess users can mix and match both sands to customize the color combination.  :Smile:

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## AhVy

> Good idea!
> 
> I just tested it out, mixed equal parts of both bottom sand and reef sand, the result was still quite brown. 
> 
> So i increased the reef sand portion to double the ratio, then the mix started turning into a noticeable lighter brown... though if i looked very closely, i can still see the separate grains of different colored sands.
> 
> Quite interesting, i guess users can mix and match both sands to customize the color combination.


*thumbs up*! Take photos! Hee


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## stormhawk

Urban, that piece of driftwood really reminds me of a terrapin.  :Laughing:

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## limz_777

it does look like a topiary , maybe grow the fissidens below to make it look like hind leg

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## AQMS

its a nice clean look.

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## edwliang

hey guys.
i just bought 1kg sudo reef sand, and tested it using RO water. and it really increased both PH and TDS, from PH6.1,TDS002 to PH8.1 TDS129 in 5 days! what is the problem? anyone can explain that?

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## Urban Aquaria

> hey guys.
> i just bought 1kg sudo reef sand, and tested it using RO water. and it really increased both PH and TDS, from PH6.1,TDS002 to PH8.1 TDS129 in 5 days! what is the problem? anyone can explain that?


Did you wash the sand thoroughly beforehand? There are alot of residual minerals and fine particles in the sand so its best to wash it well before use. I washed the sand repeatedly in a bucket until the water is clear before testing and using it.

If the sand is not washed well, any residual minerals and impurities packed amongst it will naturally dissolve in your test water and raise the TDS. TDS levels in water depends on the ratio of impurities to water volume. In a small cup of water, it requires a just a tiny bit of impurities to raise the TDS by alot. 

For example, my tap water usually reads a TDS of around 70... i've tested putting just a few drops of Seachem Prime in a small 150ml cup of tap water, and the TDS jumps from 70 to 300 in an instant! Did the same in a 15 liter bucket of water and the TDS only increases slightly from 70 to 80.

The large pH increase you measured is due to the direct use of RO water. RO water has little to no pH buffering ability, so even just a slight amount of impurities will push pH way up, especially in a small volume of water since the ratio is skewed. 

Tap water has much better pH buffering ability, hence that's why my test didn't show any noticeable change in the parameters. The tap water was able to buffer its pH against the relatively small amounts of impurities in the sand.

Try the test again with de-chlorinated tap water (if that's what you'll normally be using for water changes) and wash the sand before testing, see if you can get the same effect.

If for various reasons you have to use RO water for your tank (ie. due to keeping sensitive fishes or shrimps), then remember to also add in the essential "balancing" mineral/trace additives (which are recommended whenever using RO water) before doing the tests, as that will help replicate the real-world conditions.

Hope that helps!  :Smile:

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## edwliang

> Did you wash the sand thoroughly beforehand? There are alot of residual minerals and fine particles in the sand so its best to wash it well before use. I washed the sand repeatedly in a bucket until the water is clear before testing and using it.
> 
> If the sand is not washed well, any residual minerals and impurities packed amongst it will naturally dissolve in your test water and raise the TDS. TDS levels in water depends on the ratio of impurities to water volume. In a small cup of water, it requires a just a tiny bit of impurities to raise the TDS by alot. 
> 
> For example, my tap water usually reads a TDS of around 70... i've tested putting just a few drops of Seachem Prime in a small 150ml cup of tap water, and the TDS jumps from 70 to 300 in an instant! Did the same in a 15 liter bucket of water and the TDS only increases slightly from 70 to 80.
> 
> The large pH increase you measured is due to the direct use of RO water. RO water has little to no pH buffering ability, so even just a slight amount of impurities will push pH way up, especially in a small volume of water since the ratio is skewed. 
> 
> Tap water has much better pH buffering ability, hence that's why my test didn't show any noticeable change in the parameters. The tap water was able to buffer its pH against the relatively small amounts of impurities in the sand.
> ...



Thank you for your detailed explaination, mate. That helps indeed. I will take your advice and do it again when I have time. I intend to use this sand to keep Apisto, to replicate the Amazonia black water biotop.(whitish sand+brown water). I think that will look real natural. i will mix RO water with Tap water to achieve a TDS of around 50ppm(Tap water at home has a TDS of 100ppm+), and also use Aquarium Munster black peat to release trace elements. Thanks again.

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## popimac

It's a pity that I only saw this thread now. I saw the sudo reef sand at seaview but was hesitant to buy for my cory tank due to the word "reef". 

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## edwliang

hi again,

do you see a lot of shell fragments mixed with the Sudo Reef Sand?
do they matter?

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## Urban Aquaria

> hi again,
> 
> do you see a lot of shell fragments mixed with the Sudo Reef Sand?
> do they matter?


The pack of Sudo Reef Sand i got was quite clean... i didn't spot much other materials other than a few random small stone fragments, those are easily washed away when the sand is rinsed in water a few times anyways.

I guess if you find shell fragments in the sand, just wash and rinse them away before usage (they will tend to settle at the top layer when you wash the sand), that would help reduce any "contaminants" in the sand that may affect its characteristics.

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## percy

great! i've also been using a normal sand bottom for my planted tank. any idea how the sudo reef sand would fare in comparison to the normal sand bottom?

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## Urban Aquaria

From my experience using them so far, they both seem to be the same... just that the "Reef Sand" version has a lighter color.

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## jackychun

Hi UA, have you ever tried Coral Sand for fresh water tank before? Is that safe to use? I saw this in Seaview and the colour look quite nice. 




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## Urban Aquaria

I've not used that particular sand before , but if its actual coral sand (made up of coral bits), then it is designed to raise pH and GH... but without an actual label or description on the bag, there is no indication of what it really is. 

In such cases, you'll just have to buy it and test in a container of water over the course of a week or so, do various pH, GH and TDS tests before and after to see if the sand has any effects.

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## jackychun

> I've not used that particular sand before , but if its actual coral sand (made up of coral bits), then it is designed to raise pH and GH... but without an actual label or description on the bag, there is no indication of what it really is. 
> 
> In such cases, you'll just have to buy it and test in a container of water over the course of a week or so, do various pH, GH and TDS tests before and after to see if the sand has any effects.


Thanks UA. I might clean and test it to see how.  BTW, just a question about filter, for 25cmx17cmx21cm tank, which kind of filter is suitable? I am planning to have a low tech nano tank to put on the office table. 


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## Urban Aquaria

> Thanks UA. I might clean and test it to see how.  BTW, just a question about filter, for 25cmx17cmx21cm tank, which kind of filter is suitable? I am planning to have a low tech nano tank to put on the office table.


For similar sized nano tanks, i usually use a Dophin H80 hang-on filter, tuned to the lowest flow setting. Works well for such small tank setups.

Here is an example of how i use the H80 with my own custom DIY sponge and bio-media placement (photo shown without the plastic cover):

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## jackychun

> For similar sized nano tanks, i usually use a Dophin H80 hang-on filter, tuned to the lowest flow setting. Works well for such small tank setups.
> 
> Here is an example of how i use the H80 with my own custom DIY sponge and bio-media placement (photo shown without the plastic cover):


Wow. Good idea to have the bio media DYI in the Dophin filter. I will give it a try! Very excited for the new project. 


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## jackychun

Hi UA. Did you need to clean the sand for very long? I try to clean it with many water change but still it is not clear. 


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## Urban Aquaria

Well, for the sudo brand sands i rise them repeatedly in a container until the water is clear (like washing rice), then i use in the tank. It usually takes around 5-6 rounds of stirring and rinsing the sand to remove most of the fine dust particles.

Not sure of the rainbow brand and you are using though, but if you rinse it and its still cloudy (doesn't settle and clear up within a few secinds), that means it contains alot more dust and particles, have to keep rinsing until the water is clear.

Note that some sands are artificially colored so have to watch for that too. If you notice the sand color is changing or the water color is tinted, then that could be an indication of color leaching out of the sand.

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## peanut88

I hope to get some advice here.
I have a 4 feet planted tank with mostly tetras small fishes. The problem I have is low PH and low KH value.

Reading here, can I install a small OHF filter layered with coral sand to raise the pH and KH value safely ?
Will it harm the fishes and plants in any way ?

I think the low pH and KH value is due to the entire tank using Ada plant soil for my plants.

I have tried using coral chips and sea shells in my canister filters but it did not work. It always 0return back to low pH and KH value.

Hope you can help.

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## Urban Aquaria

> I hope to get some advice here.
> I have a 4 feet planted tank with mostly tetras small fishes. The problem I have is low PH and low KH value.
> 
> Reading here, can I install a small OHF filter layered with coral sand to raise the pH and KH value safely ?
> Will it harm the fishes and plants in any way ?
> 
> I think the low pH and KH value is due to the entire tank using Ada plant soil for my plants.
> 
> I have tried using coral chips and sea shells in my canister filters but it did not work. It always 0return back to low pH and KH value.
> ...


Yes, the ADA Amazonia aquasoil is actively maintaining the lower pH and KH, that is what its designed for. The KH has to be kept low so that the active soil can maintain lower pH conditions. Those low pH softwater conditions are meant to be favorable for plant growth. Thats one of the main reasons why aquascapers and planted tank keepers use ADA aquasoil in the first place.

Most tetras are also from low pH softwater environments, so your tank's lower pH levels are suitable for them too.

Do not add other pH raising buffers like corals chips and seashells in such tanks to try and manipulate it further. That is counter productive, since the soil will constantly be fighting to maintain low pH and KH. Its like pitting 2 opposing forces against each other. Doing that will deplete the soil's buffering abilities more quickly and eventually when it exhausts, the pH can spike up high into alkaline range. Parameters like ammonia are less toxic in lower pH and more toxic in higher pH. The danger here is that when pH suddenly jumps up without notice, trace amounts of harmless ammonium in the water column will instantly turn into toxic ammonia, and the livestock can't adapt to the changes in time, then thats when issues start to occur.

If you don't want a low pH environment in your tank (for whatever reasons), you should not use ADA aquasoil... consider doing a tank overhaul/re-scape, transfer out all livestock, and replace the soil with inert substrate like gravel or sand instead. Re-do the scape and then re-introduce the livestock (make sure to drip acclimate them well beforehand, since the new water conditions will be very different).

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## peanut88

Thanks for your reply.

I expected this when I use the aquasoil but I thought after 3 years its buffering ability will be reduced and allow the pH and KH value to go up. Do you think the aquasoil will ever lose its buffering capability ?

You are right that most tetras prefer low pH but the soil is lowering the pH to 6.2 and below. I also think a very low KH value is also not good for these tetras and the plants.

Looks like I have to revamp my 4 feet tank with pea gravel instead. Any other soil suggestion ? I prefer a higher pH like 6.6 and a higher KH value.

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## Urban Aquaria

> Thanks for your reply.
> 
> I expected this when I use the aquasoil but I thought after 3 years its buffering ability will be reduced and allow the pH and KH value to go up. Do you think the aquasoil will ever lose its buffering capability ?
> 
> You are right that most tetras prefer low pH but the soil is lowering the pH to 6.2 and below. I also think a very low KH value is also not good for these tetras and the plants.
> 
> Looks like I have to revamp my 4 feet tank with pea gravel instead. Any other soil suggestion ? I prefer a higher pH like 6.6 and a higher KH value.


If the tank has already been running for 3 years, other than the aquasoil buffer, part of the lower pH conditions would also be due to "old tank syndrome". This occurs when waste and mulm accumulate in the tank over a long period of time and all the organic material and bacterial activity combine to generate additional acidifying effects.

I have sand-based tanks that are around 2+ years old with pH dropping gradually over time too, so much so that their pH can get as low as 6.0... usually it's the tanks with higher plant density and bio-loads. When i do more extensive clean ups by siphoning out the accumulated waste and dirt in the tank, doing larger water changes and fully cleaning the filter, the pH gradually restores back close to 7.0 after that.

Maybe you could try to do series of comprehensive clean ups of your tank and filter, see if the pH of your tank water gradually adjusts back over time. Do monitor that the pH doesn't suddenly jump up too quickly though, as that can shock the livestock. 

If you want to switch to inert substrate, consider using sand instead, i find it much easier to keep clean as waste and food sit in top, where they can be removed easily, rather then drop into gaps between gravel and get trapped/rot inside the substrate.

As for soil, ADA Amazonia aquasoil is still the one of the best for planted tanks. Perhaps it's just time to do a re-scape with fresh new soil. Low KH is okay for softwater fishes and plants, it has to be low in order for pH to be maintained at the acidic range anyways, otherwise it'll be much more difficult for the soil to control and maintain the lower pH water conditions.  :Smile:

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## gimhchng

Hi UA and all, do you know the difference between the sudo sand and those without brand sold at C328? The grain size looks similar and its white...thinking to use sand in my tank.

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## Urban Aquaria

> Hi UA and all, do you know the difference between the sudo sand and those without brand sold at C328? The grain size looks similar and its white...thinking to use sand in my tank.


I've not tested those no brand packets of sand from C328, so can't really comment on them. I guess you could just try them out and see if they are suitable for your usage. 

For most people, they choose the sand according to grain size and color, some like artificial white color sand, while others prefer natural beige color sand. Just a preference.

If you want to be more careful, just do some tests on the sand to find out its characteristics before usage.

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## gimhchng

Noted. Thanks UA.

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