# 3M announces: will stop production of Colorquartz sand!



## Cento (Mar 30, 2005)

HA! Ironic! I'm researching where to buy the stuff, and then I find this...

http://solutions.3m.com/wps/portal/3M/e ... /HomePage/

No, colourquartz for me...


----------



## dergibog (May 30, 2005)

Yikes!
Glad I got mine.
That stinks.


----------



## Toby_H (Apr 15, 2005)

Well maybe an aquarium supply manufacturer will finally step up and make an "aquarium sand" that is actually good for aquariums... and not just for killing filters...


----------



## Cento (Mar 30, 2005)

anyone have extra colorquartz lying around they could sell me.... a price that doesn't include: my firstborn, my right arm, either of my kidneys, or a sum greater then or equal to our household income..... :lol:


----------



## mlancaster (Jul 24, 2009)

Hey Cento,

Yeah I saw that notice on the 3M website too, so I made some moves. It may not be too late for you either. I sent 3M a message through their "contact us" on their website. They basically told me to use the distributor locator function on the web page, to the left; but, they also gave me the name and number of the sales rep in my state. So you can either send 3M a message through their website, they responded to me within a few hours, or you can just use the distributor locator on the web page to find a store in the Toronto area (hoping there is one close).

I called the distributer in my area and they said they still have lots of the T-Grade and S-grade colorquartz left, they even had black which is what I want for my tank. They also told me the price will be $15-$20 USD for 50lb bag depending on the color, pretty cheap in my opinion.

So, make some calls and I bet you can get some, I am hoping.

I could pick some up for you but shipping will most likely be horrendous and will proably cost you â€œyour firstborn, your right arm, either of your kidneys, or a sum greater than or equal to your household income.....â€


----------



## Cento (Mar 30, 2005)

Thanks matt! Will go there now.. Here's hoping that they have a rep close to me!!


----------



## Gervahlt (Jun 25, 2009)

Oooo! That sucks! I love my black S-grade. Unfortunately, I don't have the money to buy more right now. I'd love to have more black and several other mix colors for future tanks as well. Serves 3M right for never marketing this stuff to fish stores though...otherwise I'm sure sales would be quite a bit higher than they are.


----------



## Gerry Binczik (Jan 30, 2005)

Hey, Cento!

I really appreciate the heads-up about this! I'd been waiting to go out and buy a bunch, and might well have missed my chance without your post.

I found the three S-grade colors I was looking for (white, tan, brown) today for $18.75/50lb bag (+ tax) at National Pool and Tile in Dallas, TX; I didn't actually ask about remaining stocks, but they made it sound like they have quite a bit left even though 3M stopped shipping a couple of weeks ago.

I owe you one! :thumb:


----------



## bertolli (Aug 18, 2009)

****! thx for posting this I been waiting around to go and get this stuff and now im definitely going to go out and get some TOMORROW! :thumb: 
You guys think s grade or t grade is better for fish?
heres the choices at the dealer by my place:
For T grade - taho blue, black, blue, white
S grade - plum, green, black, blue, white, smoke, and buff.


----------



## Cento (Mar 30, 2005)

Yeah, I looked into buying some..... finally got a hold of a canadian dealer.... all the way in VANCOUVER.. May as well be in LA.. and they only sell 50lbs bags; can't imagine what the shipping would be with something like that from BC to Toronto... :?

Anyhoo, I couldn't be bothered, so I went with Black Tahitian Moon. Its not perfect, but then again, its just for my 10gal growout tank... :roll:

I don't understand either why they didn't branch out to the pet trade.. Maybe they figured the aquarium industry wouldn't consume nearly as much as the construction industry and it wouldn't have been cost effective to make different packaging and departments for a small market.


----------



## Gerry Binczik (Jan 30, 2005)

Bertolli, it seems like people are split on S- versus T-grade. I don't think it matters so far as the fish are concerned, so get what you like.

On colors, I know some people like to go with straight black or some other bold color scheme. I like a more or less natural appearance. You can make a pretty natural look (albeit on the light side), I think, just using white and buff.


----------



## Maxima308 (Jun 6, 2009)

There are other manufactures of quartz aggregates besides 3M. Quick Google search i found this company...

http://www.spectraquartz.com/other-appl ... grades.htm


----------



## Gerry Binczik (Jan 30, 2005)

Interesting. Clearly one was meant to mimic the other; the colors all even have the exact same names. I don't know for sure, but I'll bet Colorquartz came first.

I note that SpectraQuartz says they permanently bind pigment to the quartz crystals' surface, which certainly sounds different than coating the quartz crystals in pigmented ceramic as is the case with Colorquartz. Besides the colors, the two things that excite me about Colorquartz are its smoothness (that is nice to fish, as the crystals have no sharp corners or edges) and its density (that is nice to filters, as the crystals don't stay up in the water column when disturbed), and I'll bet both of those are due to the ceramic coating. So while it's good to know there's another option out there, I'm awfully glad I was able to get my Colorquartz!


----------



## bertolli (Aug 18, 2009)

picked it up today. Got two bags, plum  hehe and smoke.
15$a bag 50lbs for the S grade not a bad deal.


----------

