All you EVER wanted to know about Southdown
- Thread starter Grumpy Vet
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The answer to the question as to why the admonition against aquarium use printed on the bag has been answered before (buried deep in some other thread), but here it is again....
It's all marketing...The producer in FL who "mines" this stuff and processes it sells to a number of different distributers who, in turn, brand and label it for their consumers. Old Castle (yes, they WERE Southdown) sells it to the HD/nursery/lawn&garden market as "tropical play sand". There are others, Like CaribSea, who sell to the aquarist market. The deal the FL producer (I forget his name) has with the aquarium market distributers requires him to protect their market (with its high pricing) by insisting that the lawn & garden guys, like HD, label this stuff as "not suitable for aquarium use."
It's all marketing...The producer in FL who "mines" this stuff and processes it sells to a number of different distributers who, in turn, brand and label it for their consumers. Old Castle (yes, they WERE Southdown) sells it to the HD/nursery/lawn&garden market as "tropical play sand". There are others, Like CaribSea, who sell to the aquarist market. The deal the FL producer (I forget his name) has with the aquarium market distributers requires him to protect their market (with its high pricing) by insisting that the lawn & garden guys, like HD, label this stuff as "not suitable for aquarium use."
firemouth4416
In Memoriam
HD will ship a pallet anywere in the country if you get the right person and probly wont charge shipping. I did it to Chicago and had no problems other than actually getting them to get the right sand and finding it at another store in the US. I would do this quickly because this is probly a seasonal item for them. Good luck
Boxingcrab
New member
Still looking for it here in Wichita, Ks with no luck. Still looking though,
I know this thread is dirt-old by now, but wanted to post what feedback I have on ordering Old Castle sand...
I called this customer service number, and ended up speaking to a guy named Scott in Sales. He informed me that they only ship in truckloads (what's that, like 10 pallettes? more?), unfortunately, I was only looking for one pallette's worth. He gave me the name/number of a distributor, which I'm checking on now, who Scott said would ship by the pallette. I'll post a follow-up if I have a good experience with the distributor.
I called this customer service number, and ended up speaking to a guy named Scott in Sales. He informed me that they only ship in truckloads (what's that, like 10 pallettes? more?), unfortunately, I was only looking for one pallette's worth. He gave me the name/number of a distributor, which I'm checking on now, who Scott said would ship by the pallette. I'll post a follow-up if I have a good experience with the distributor.
Still going at 30k posts, unreal. I read this entire thread at one point, not anymore.....
firemouth4416
In Memoriam
Good luck finding a distributor outside that area. Home depo is still the best way so far. Find somebody helpful at Dep. You can call depos around the East til you find it. Then have your local depo order the pallet shipped to them for your pickup. Just make sure its the right stuff because they use differant SKU's for there sand. Find the UPC code and verify it and you should be OK
GOOD LUCK
GOOD LUCK
Went to the Home Depot in Gaithersburg, MD today at lunch, and they had two full skids of the sand. BUT, they had two types.
1st type:
Tropical Play Sand
Old Castle Stone Products - Easton, PA
Description on bag: "Soft Texture - Sterilized - Silica Free", "From the Caribbean"
And then this note at the bottom of the bag...
"Not recommended for Traction or Aquarium use"
2nd type:
Fantasy Sand, Play Sand
Coastal Supply Co. - Dagsboro, DE
(Picture of a sand castle on the front)
The first type sounds like the Southdown sand, that I guess is now Old Castle. BUT that note at the bottom of the bag that said not recommended for aquarium use had me concerned. If this is the real stuff, and there is no concern, I'm gona get me a couple of bags of the stuff, even though I won't have a tank ready for it for another month or two. I want to make sure it doesn't disapear on me! Cost was $4.99/bag which sounds more expensive than other places. But still that'd probably be the cheapest thing in my tank! lol I'd much rather pay that than $1-$2/lb for CC or other substrate. BTW, I went to the HD in Germantown, MD last night and saw where the sand was "supposed" to be. Their computer even said they had 113 bags in stock. But unless they're now making the bags out of invisible ink, their computer must have been wrong! lol They did say, though, that it is regularly stocked. *shrug*
Brian
1st type:
Tropical Play Sand
Old Castle Stone Products - Easton, PA
Description on bag: "Soft Texture - Sterilized - Silica Free", "From the Caribbean"
And then this note at the bottom of the bag...
"Not recommended for Traction or Aquarium use"
2nd type:
Fantasy Sand, Play Sand
Coastal Supply Co. - Dagsboro, DE
(Picture of a sand castle on the front)
The first type sounds like the Southdown sand, that I guess is now Old Castle. BUT that note at the bottom of the bag that said not recommended for aquarium use had me concerned. If this is the real stuff, and there is no concern, I'm gona get me a couple of bags of the stuff, even though I won't have a tank ready for it for another month or two. I want to make sure it doesn't disapear on me! Cost was $4.99/bag which sounds more expensive than other places. But still that'd probably be the cheapest thing in my tank! lol I'd much rather pay that than $1-$2/lb for CC or other substrate. BTW, I went to the HD in Germantown, MD last night and saw where the sand was "supposed" to be. Their computer even said they had 113 bags in stock. But unless they're now making the bags out of invisible ink, their computer must have been wrong! lol They did say, though, that it is regularly stocked. *shrug*
Brian
Yes, they have added the Not safe for aquarium to the bags
TurboFish said:
Yeah, it's basically the same. One guy even said "hey, we don't know whats in there and if it's safe"
But your marketing it for children???? He backed off from his stance that it maybe harmful. But in truth - a possibility, as they may "spray" to keep dust down. And what may not be harmful to a child, may hurt a coral. But with everyone using it, I think an issue would have come up by now.
I have 50lbs in my 30g, and another 600lbs ready to go in my 180g & sump. Ton's of people have been using Southdown for quite a while. The Tropical Play Sand is what I understand to be the new Southdown bag.
Fizz71
FragSwapper
Easton PA is where SouthDown was and OldCastle is. I've heard alot of different posts talking about how they put that on the bag because they want to be able to sell the same sand to a reef sand vendor and be able to charge the full *ss-riping price. The stuff in my tank is the stuff you found..same warning. I don't have corals yet, but the fish are doing fine, and the tigertail cuke eats and craps it like any other sand. 
--Fizz
..less than 45 minutes from Easton, PA
--Fizz
..less than 45 minutes from Easton, PA
firemouth4416
In Memoriam
DATMAN 422
Call that Home Depo from Gaithersburg MD and ask them to send a pallet to your local store. They may charge you extra for shipping but not more than a buck or two probably. You might also tell them that you will buy any bags they dont sell after a month or two. Just put the word out and it willprobably go in a few days.
Call that Home Depo from Gaithersburg MD and ask them to send a pallet to your local store. They may charge you extra for shipping but not more than a buck or two probably. You might also tell them that you will buy any bags they dont sell after a month or two. Just put the word out and it willprobably go in a few days.
I had a local reef enthusiast who's helping me get a pallette shipped semi-local (2 hours away)..... through a Co-op in the state! I had forgotten, but somewhere in this thread, there's mention that farmers use this stuff (and other aggregates) to change the PH in their soil.... turns out there's a co-op here in Alabama that orders truckload(s) from Old Castle every week, and should be able to put a pallette of playsand in one of their orders. I'll keep everyone posted!
dmiannay
Premium Member
Picked Up Southdown Today from a LFS... New Bag Pic Inside
Picked Up Southdown Today from a LFS... New Bag Pic Inside
Here's a photo of the new Southdown bag with the warning near the bottom not to use for "Traction or Aquariums". From all I've been able to glean from these forums, this is the exact product for aquariums. SKU on the bag is 090604201002.
Picked Up Southdown Today from a LFS... New Bag Pic Inside
Here's a photo of the new Southdown bag with the warning near the bottom not to use for "Traction or Aquariums". From all I've been able to glean from these forums, this is the exact product for aquariums. SKU on the bag is 090604201002.
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