3M colorquartz safe with geos?

[VNCNT]

i'm thinking of swapping out the quikrete playsand with black 3m colorquartz in my geo tank. i remember that when i first used the CQ, i had to wash the hell out of it and it still left residue in my tank... is this stuff safe to use in my geo/eartheater tank? or should i use tahitian moon sand?

 

[buddha1200]

i use it in my geo tank and dont have a problem.

 

[_Jessica_]

Don't do Tahitian Moon Sand...that stuff is awful...it is way too fine for aquarium use. A bunch of it usually floats up, even after rinsing, if you disturb it at any time. I haven't used ColorQuartz, so I'm not sure about that.

 

[valderi123]

can't see why it won't work

 

[Dragon Hunter]

3m looks great with geos. I got 50lbs of it fs too!!!!

 

[buddha1200]

works pretty good for me.

 

[VRWC]

Don't do Tahitian Moon Sand...that stuff is awful...it is way too fine for aquarium use. A bunch of it usually floats up, even after rinsing, if you disturb it at any time.

Tahitian Moon sand is great for aquarium use, you just didnt rinse it well enough. I have had over 20 bags in various aquariums and the trick is, like with any other sand, dont skimp on the rinse time you spend on it. It takes about an hour a bag of constant turning and rinsing to get the finer particles out of it. Easiest way is to dump 1 bag in a 5lb bucket, stick a hose to the bottom of the buck and turn it on.. Grab a chair and just sit there and stir the sand letting the overflowing water take out the minute particles. After the very first bag I ever had, I never had a single problem with it or any other bag of sand.

That being said, if I could get 3m sand locally, I probably would because its a whole lot cheaper than the TMS. I think TMS is $29 and 3m is around $5 for the same size bag.
...and Yes, its fine for Geos!

 

[peathenster]

Tahitian Moon sand is great for aquarium use, you just didnt rinse it well enough. I have had over 20 bags in various aquariums and the trick is, like with any other sand, dont skimp on the rinse time you spend on it. It takes about an hour a bag of constant turning and rinsing to get the finer particles out of it. Easiest way is to dump 1 bag in a 5lb bucket, stick a hose to the bottom of the buck and turn it on.. Grab a chair and just sit there and stir the sand letting the overflowing water take out the minute particles. After the very first bag I ever had, I never had a single problem with it or any other bag of sand.

Good info. I wish somebody had told me that before I dumped all that TMS in my tank

 

[VRWC]

Good info. I wish somebody had told me that before I dumped all that TMS in my tank

Sounds like you did the same thing I did the first time. Thats how I figured out how NOT to do it.

 

[darth pike]

I actually never prerinsed my TMS and never had any issues with it. Of course, I kept dwarf cichlids in it so they weren't known to be sand moves at all.