# sand subrates near columbus ohio



## redstrat (Apr 3, 2006)

*White Sand near columbus ohio*

Hi this is a quesiton for those living in central ohio, has anyone seen 3M color quartz products sold in central ohio, or even NW columbus??? I have contacted 3m and had no luck finding this product sold locally. I'm also wondering if anybody has seen white silica sand sold here.

Should I have any concerns about contamination or ph buffering by white play sand? is white play sand really silica sand?

I guess the underlying question here is has anyone seen good white sand suitable for substrate, in an open foreground, sold in or around NW columbus? There shouldn't be any plants growing in this substrate as I will have flourite in the planted areas.


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## MatPat (Mar 22, 2004)

The only 3M Color Quartz dealer in Ohio is in Cleveland. You may be able to get a 3M dealer in Columbus to order you some white Colorquartz but I have no idea what the shipping would be.

You may want to check out the Swimming Pool Supply stores in your area for Silica Sand. Some of them carry the more 'natural' color silica sand but I have seen in in an opaque white also.

If you really want white sand, Carib Sea makes a product called "Marine Sand" that is white and inert according to their website. It is similar in size to Tahitian Moon Sand which is about as small of a "sand" as I would go in a planted tank. It may work for your needs.

Play sand can be very different in it's makeup depending on where it is from. If you decide to go with play sand, put some in a glass of water and let it sit for a few days to see if the KH or GH rises. That is the only way to be sure it is inert.


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## redstrat (Apr 3, 2006)

I have heard of the Carib Sea Marine sand and I probably should have mentioned it before, this is another sand I'd like to find. Has anybody seen it because I can't find it locally, maybe I just haven't looked hard enough. I have seen the reptile verson but its supposed to be a calcium based sand and it would definately alter the PH and GH of my water. 

I wish petsmart had it so I could do an online price match lol.

the only reason silica sand interestes me so much is because I've heard it comes in 50# bags and can be very cheap and still very WHITE. 

I'll probably avoid play sand, unless its the only thing I can find.


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## MatPat (Mar 22, 2004)

The place with the reptile version of Carib Sea products should be able to order you a bag of the Marine Sand. I imagin it is priced similar to the Tahitian Moon Sand at about $20 per 20lb bag. The Silica Sand would definately be cheaper


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## evercl92 (Aug 14, 2006)

I don't recall the exact brand of the sand, but I have seen several colors of the sand at Aquarium Adventure and Byerly's. It was some 'marine' sand, possible the Carib Sea brand. It was $5 for 5lbs. I used the black in my cherry shrimp tank, and have yet to have a loss.


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## redstrat (Apr 3, 2006)

I currently use the black tahitian moon sand that I bought when I first started my 75g tank, and I was very satisified with it. I'm looking for white sand for my rescape I'm planning this winter. I'll have to check Aquarium Adventure, I live really close and I haven't checked there yet for some reason. Has anybody seen silica sand?


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## Six (May 29, 2006)

i use play sand ina few of my tanks and i dont like it. it's not nice to catfish for one, otherwise it packs really tight, which the plants dont like.

thats just my experience though. 

gl!


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## MatPat (Mar 22, 2004)

Six said:


> i use play sand ina few of my tanks and i dont like it. it's not nice to catfish for one, otherwise it packs really tight, which the plants dont like.
> 
> thats just my experience though.


I have had the same experience with play sand, except for the catfish.


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## redstrat (Apr 3, 2006)

Ok definately not going to go for the play sand lol.

****I have an update****
I just got done doing a little running around the sawmill, henderson area and found some interesting things.

Aquarium Adventure-
doesn't have anything as far as white inert sand goes unless you want to buy tons of 5lb bags for $4.99 each, they do however have some new plants in there that I haven't seen before, Rotala Wallichi, Baby Tears. I'm a little impressed to see them changing the plant selection up a little.

Petco-
waste of time, they didnt have many sand options, just crushed coral and gravel up to 2-4" diam river rock.

Byerly's on Henderson-
They normally have *Carib Sea Marine Sand *but they just ran out of stock. No big deal I wasn't planning to buy today anyway but its good to know they carry it. I talked to the manager guy there and he said its pretty much a silica sand, they also had the 5lb bags. Another thing he told me about, this is the interesting part. They sell 50lb bags of pool filter sand in an off white color(the only color avail.) and its available in different grit sizes!!! He said that he doesnt keep it out for everyone to see because it comes in a plastic bag that you can't see though and only the 50lb size so he basically orders it as people ask for it, but they do have it in a couple of their display tanks. the price for one 50lb bag of this stuff is $20!! way better than the $20-25 for a 20lb bag or $5 for a 5lb bag.

anyway I'm definatley going to keep byerly's in mind, but I'm still looking for some real white sand, even though the light beige is an option I guess, especially considering the price.


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## Rob Tetrazona (Jun 21, 2005)

Nice detective work. Before you make your purchase, do yourself a favor and hit a couple of major pool supply stores. You may find just what you are looking for as Russ did for $5 or $6 for a 50# bag. Then you can let us know what you find.


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## MatPat (Mar 22, 2004)

rwoehr said:


> Nice detective work. Before you make your purchase, do yourself a favor and hit a couple of major pool supply stores. You may find just what you are looking for as Russ did for $5 or $6 for a 50# bag. Then you can let us know what you find.


 Good advice from the original "Sandman". Looks like you could have some competiton for your title Rob


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## Rob Tetrazona (Jun 21, 2005)

MatPat said:


> Good advice from the original "Sandman". Looks like you could have some competiton for your title Rob


That's fine. Now that I'm 35, I prefer to be a "Sand Advisor" anyway. When I retire, I hope to get paid to be a "Dust Consultant".


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## MatPat (Mar 22, 2004)

I hate to hijack this thread even more, but for those who don't know Rob, he was the one who orchestrated our Group Buy on the 1,000lbs of Soilmaster and 2,000lbs of 3M's Black Color Quartz last year. At least I think it was last year


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## redstrat (Apr 3, 2006)

no problem MatPat, its all about substrate.  

I'll definately look into pool places, i know of two off hand but I dont really expect to find much from one of them. who knows though its worth a shot.


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## trevorm (Nov 27, 2006)

*Looking for 3M Colorquartz*

This looks like a dead thread, but I was wondering if there was anymore of the 3M sand left over from the group buy or if you have any suggestions on where I can find the 3M sand near Cincinnati, OH?


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## Troy McClure (Aug 3, 2005)

Rob or Matt might still have some. 2000lbs is a lot. I still have over 100lbs of SMS, and I know Scott still has some left over. Hmm...that reminds me to write up an article about SMS...


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## MatPat (Mar 22, 2004)

Trevorm,

Welcome to APC!

Rob (rwoehr) may have an extra bag of the sand. You can probably PM him or just wait and see if he reads this thread 

The only Ohio distributor for the 3M sand is in the Cleveland area. It would require another group buy of at least 1,000lbs to make the $60 shipping cost worthwhile.

Since you are new to the site, why not introduce yourself in either the Introductions and Greets Forum  or Swoape Member Introduction thread in the SWOAPE Forum


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## MatPat (Mar 22, 2004)

Troy McClure said:


> Rob or Matt might still have some. 2000lbs is a lot. I still have over 100lbs of SMS, and I know Scott still has some left over. Hmm...that reminds me to write up an article about SMS...


If you and Scott want to get rid of those three bags of SMS let me know. I would be interested in buying them! I'm thinking very seriously about getting 3 more of the 50g tanks from Glass Cages and I need to make up my mind very soon. Substrate has been holding me back so far since I know the Lesco in the Cinci area does not have any in stock.

I do have two 50lb bags of the 3M Black Color Quartz sand. As of right now they are slated to go into my 120g African Cichlid tank if I ever get it set up. If I decide against using the black sand I would be willing to sell them


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## redstrat (Apr 3, 2006)

Matpat, can the 1000lbs required for a group buy be split up into more than one color, such as 
100lbs white 3M colorquartz 
900lbs black 3M Colorquartz
or some other ratio in 50lb increments ofcourse because thats how big a bag is. 

If we did manage to organize a group buy of atleast 1000lbs what would the price be per 50lb bag?

Sorry to say it but I haven't got arround to calling the local pool supply places. I've been really busy with the holidays and school recently its kinda slipped my mind.


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## MatPat (Mar 22, 2004)

davis.1841 said:


> Matpat, can the 1000lbs required for a group buy be split up into more than one color, such as
> 100lbs white 3M colorquartz
> 900lbs black 3M Colorquartz
> or some other ratio in 50lb increments ofcourse because thats how big a bag is.
> ...


I have no idea if the sand can be split into different colors or what the price would be. The price per 50lbs was around $25 if memory serves me correctly. Rob (rwoehr) has all of the contact info and handled the group buy the last time we ordered. He is the "Sand Man" and should be able to give you the contact info


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## Troy McClure (Aug 3, 2005)

Matt - I might be interested in ditching the two unopened bags I have, but I'll have to see how it works out in a second 10gal I setup yesterday. So far I'm a bit disappointed. I rinsed and rinsed and rinsed and rinsed....for 90 f'n minutes I washed it in a bucket and it never stopped putting off dust because it just falls apart when you mix it up. I should know whether or not I'm going to keep it before the meeting...I'll let you know.


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## MatPat (Mar 22, 2004)

I've heard of lots of people rinsing and having issues like you did. I did not rinse my SMS and the water barely clouded when I filled the tank.


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## Rob Tetrazona (Jun 21, 2005)

MatPat said:


> I've heard of lots of people rinsing and having issues like you did. I did not rinse my SMS and the water barely clouded when I filled the tank.


I've done 2 75's, 1 w/ rinsed SMS and 1 unrinsed. To tell you the truth, it's easier to put some water in the tank, dump in the SMS, then do some 50% or more water changes over the next couple of day and call it a done deal. With a Python, this isn't such a big deal. I feel the same way about the 3M ColorQuartz sand.

$60 for 2 50# bags of the black 3M ColorQuartz to trevrom, if you want it. Will 100# meet your needs? There is a substrate calculator on this site. Punch it up for silica sand and let me know.


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