Hey everyone. To my surprise, it was rather difficult to acquire white silica sand in my market (Sacramento). I didn't want to pay $50+ or 50 lb at my petsmart and local LFS. All other sands were much darker and did not appeal to my taste.
In search of alternatives, I came across a few aquarium forums which predominately commended 3M's ColorQuartz sand (originally used to provide an aesthetic element to pool coatings). While the attributes of this product is based on the anecdotal observations, experiences and merits of many others, consistent praise was conveyed about the sand: wide array of color options (12 or so), fine particle size (0.21mm if I recall correctly), relatively high specific gravity (settles quicker than traditional sand, and apparently does not lift as easily when siphoned), inert chemical properties and its reasonable price (most were $18-25 for a 50 lb bag; although some have been quoted upwards of $50-80/bag at some distributors). Its drawbacks seem to be its sporadic availability or the need to incessantly wash it. You can check 3M's website for a state list of distributors.
I was lucky enough to have one here in Sacramento, and purchased a bag of white S-grade sand. While I have not put it in the tank and cannot affirm the observations of others as of now, I am impressed with the low abrasive nature and the bright white color. Another popular option seems to be mixing colors too.
Although this product is not new and has been discussed as a substrate option for at least a few years, I didn't see any dialogue about this in the search function of this site. Hopefully this will provide another option for people in regards to sand substrate. It certainly appears to have many ideal characteristics, but I will keep everyone updated if you guys want.
http://solutions.3m.com/wps/portal/3M/e ... /Crystals/
It seems to be the latest trend here on the forum. I just added it to my tank as well.
