Permacolor quartz samples for my 125 setup with Designs by Nature Bulu Point 3d BG

Just received a bunch of free samples from Lee at Estes corp. They make Permacolor quartz in different size granules. They have been extremely helpful as I try to decide which substrate will work best with my 3d DBN Bulu Point BG I ordered from Jeff Campbell.

Lee put me in touch with Tena at AGSCO Corp, who is a local NJ distributor for Estes. Tena created a free sample blend for me to replicate a substrate called Senegal Sand, made by Unipac in the UK. She had it shipped to me for next day arrival via UPS.



My gorgeous Bulu Point BG ~ Thanks for your help Jeff!




3 custom blends of Senegal Sand replica



Standard Color Camel, Coffee Blend and Caramel Blend


Red tip blend, Driftwood blend, walnut standard

Have to post the rest separately. Can only do 5 at a time on my tablet


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Walnut and Camel


Red tip and Caramel


Driftwood and Coffee

Now I just have to decide!!

Any thoughts, comments?

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I absolutely agree. The choices for lighting, BG and substrate color/grain/tone are based upon what I think would enhance the appearance of my fish and their environment.

This tank is the next size upgrade for some of my Madagascar cichlids. They're all sifters, so even the granule size has been considered. Warm natural tones with subdued lighting, driftwood, rocks, etc. I actually came across the Senagal sand while looking at setups of Malagasy keepers in Europe. They're in tanks now where the substrate (mostly Supernaturals Sunset Gold) is too light for their colors. Here's a few pics as a reference

A few of my Juvenile Pe. Menarambo, although they're still young and haven't colored up yet, still washed out against a light substrate. The pics are taken from the side of their current tank.





One of my 1yr old Pe. Maculatus, they're just starting to show mature colors



My Paratilapia polleni, very much in need of a darker substrate to show off her beautiful colors



My Pty. Tarantsy breeding pair (they'll be moving into a separate tank, but with the same substrate that goes into the 125)












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Thanks for the input Deeda! Great ideas to consider. And soooo many fantastic colors The fine sand is definitely too small and would be cloudy often. Maybe medium, not sure yet. Im concerned about using coarse sand and damage to their gills. My fish, especially the Paratilapia and Ptychochromis, sift and spit all the time. Probably as much as my Red head Tapajos ( theyre in my SA tank & not with my Mad. beauties ) Mixing your own sand is a great idea as well. Since I'll be washing the sand, mixing can definitely be done in increments.

The standard blends are only about $4 or so more per 50lb bag. The blend for Senegal sand uses 3 or 4 different colors of their standard sands, and I'd need at least 3 bags anyway. Leftover sand is a bonus and I do love experimenting. I'm really excited about this as well. I'm leaning towards Senegal #1 #2 or Coffee, but that's just based on looking at dry sand against a dry BG. I have to see it wet, in the tank with the BG, rocks and driftwood.

The BG will go in as soon as my husband cuts it into sections. I'm not allowed to play with his power tools.

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Thanks Deeda,

That's great to know. What grain of the trowel grade are you using? Was washing the sand any more/less time consuming than other types of sand? My least favorite thing to do is wash sand. I'd rather clean filters. I'm sure washing 150lbs of sand will be loads of fun. If your wet pets are ok with tg sand, mine should be ok as well. The mouths/gills of mine are most likely larger. My paratilapia usually piles the sand right by the filter intake. She makes quite a mess, but it seems to keep her very occupied.

Cheers,
Laurie

deeda said:

The literature online for the Estes' PermaColor Quartz Trowel-Rite product is 20-40 mesh, the Broadcast Medium is 30-50 mesh and the Broadcast Fine is 50-70 mesh. So the BF is the smallest, BM is slightly larger and TR is larger yet.

I find that the TR easily passes through a typical small kitchen strainer (not a colander) and standard window screen with no problem.

For comparison, table sugar is 50/80 mesh.

Click to expand...

Thank you. Once again very helpful. That makes sense. Its close enough in size for the fish to not be harmful. The endless disruption to the substrate would settle quicker. Cleaning the tank would be easier with sand that's a bit "heavier." Can't believe I missed that in the specs. I must have been distracted by all the pretty colors!

Also, it looks like I may escape the dreaded sand washing. My nephews will be coming to stay with me for 5 days. When my brother drops them off, he will hopefully agree to help my husband install the BG. And I intend to bribe my nephews to be on sand duty.

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