pwmin;1584523; said:
I love the s-grade that I got. It's been great so far, but I've only had it in the tank for a week.
i love it! i am using white, it does get sucked up in your python easy but it looks great!
3m color quartz
- Thread starter liljoe0985
- Start date
i love it! i am using white, it does get sucked up in your python easy but it looks great!
Is 3M Quartz s-grade the same as Tahitian Moon Sand? I just switched over to TMS and it looks like tiny pieces of quartz. Plus someone mentioned that they had used 3M Quartz and had a black oily film on the surface even after lots of cleaning. I ended up with a black oily film when I switched to TMS. So I have this feeling they are one in the same (only way more expensive when sold as TMS).
no, it's not. TMS is just sand (I think), but colorquartz is quartz coated in pigmented ceramic. I didn't have that oily film when I used TMS or 3MCQvfc;1585098; said:
liljoe0985;1498388; said:
Do a wide search over several fish forums such as:
http://www.cichlid-forum.com/phpBB/viewtopic.php?t=43290&postdays=0&postorder=asc&&start=0
The Colorquartz is quartz sand/pebble with a ceramic coating. It, for all intents and purposes, is inert. It is not the same as Tahitian Moon Sand. Some pool contractor supply houses will carry it and it may take some real effort on your part to locate it.
Back several years ago 3M made a product similar to CQ that was a sort of experiment. It was a different under rock with a CQ ceramic top layer. It was supposedly going to be used in pool plaster like original CQ while also suitable for roofing granules. That material, called "Accent Stone" (if you can find it) is inert. However, from what I've been told by a 3M insider, new roofing granules have a special oil added to the granules to make them stick to the asphalt better. This oil is toxic to fish.
3m is aware that folks are looking for substitutes to the expensive madness in the LFS's. But they seem to have no plans to market CQ to aquarists yet.
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vfc;1585098; said:
No, TMS for one thing is rough, S grade is spherical and very smooth. The T grade color quartz might be similar but I doubt it. Color quarts is a ceramic coated quartz, so its not going to 'look like quartz'. Its the ceramic coating that gives it color, and why it comes in a variety of color. I really dont know anything about TMS though. Check the link I provided above for more info.
Edit/ oops I see that was already answered above, I had the post up on my screen overnight I didnt refresh it in the morning when I asnwered.
Nic,
You can buy 3M quartz at Concrete Service Materials on 6th Street in Conshohocken.
Here the link to the "where to buy" 3M quartz web site. There are quite a few places near Philly.
http://solutions.3m.com/wps/portal/3M/en_US/ColorQuartz/HomePage/Products/Buy/
Or you can drive to ThatFishPlace in Lancaster and buy the 20lbs bags of TMS for $13.98 (vs $24.99 at PetSmart).
I picked up 4 bags of TMS at ThatFishPlace. It sparkled like crazy when I went outside to put the bags in my car. The sand looked like tiny diamonds the way they reflected sun light.
You can buy 3M quartz at Concrete Service Materials on 6th Street in Conshohocken.
Here the link to the "where to buy" 3M quartz web site. There are quite a few places near Philly.
http://solutions.3m.com/wps/portal/3M/en_US/ColorQuartz/HomePage/Products/Buy/
Or you can drive to ThatFishPlace in Lancaster and buy the 20lbs bags of TMS for $13.98 (vs $24.99 at PetSmart).
I picked up 4 bags of TMS at ThatFishPlace. It sparkled like crazy when I went outside to put the bags in my car. The sand looked like tiny diamonds the way they reflected sun light.
