All you EVER wanted to know about Southdown
- Thread starter Grumpy Vet
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sean48183
New member
Run the skimmer get rid of that dusty stuff. I waited for that stuff to settle for a week and it stayed cloudy as anything. Skimmer cleared it up in a couple hours. Cleared right in front of my eyes. By the way try calling for old castle at HD's. They never seem to know southdown but many of them carry old castle. At least in Michigan where I'm from anyway.
armygreen11
New member
You don't want silica based sand, you want calcium based sand. To test, put some vinegar in a dish, and add some sand. It will fizz if it's the right stuff.
FastUno
New member
Yea, I did the test. Sand was kinda wet though, but it fizzled. Sorta like the gases in coke. Will try to dry some & test again tomorrow to make sure.
There is a warning lable that it contains silica. Doesn't all sand contain silica? I thought it was like 99%, or something to that effect.
There is a warning lable that it contains silica. Doesn't all sand contain silica? I thought it was like 99%, or something to that effect.
It is very possible for aragonite to contain some silica. A good test is to keep adding vinegar to a small amount until it stops fizzing. If there is only a small amount of residue left (probably silica) then the bulk is aragonite.
I wonder if this is the oldest running thread on the board that is still "in use"
jerseytankgirl
New member
i'm new here, but if the legendary southdown sand looks like the picture of "Grumpy Vet"'s avatar (the one with the kid in the overalls), i just found plenty of bags at the home depot in Union, NJ. the address from the HD website is:
"Union/Vauxhall" #915
2445 Springfield Ave
Vauxhall, NJ 07088
(908)686-9804
i just went today and there were PLENTY of bags. they are $4.99 for 50lb. bag. hope this helps.
"Union/Vauxhall" #915
2445 Springfield Ave
Vauxhall, NJ 07088
(908)686-9804
i just went today and there were PLENTY of bags. they are $4.99 for 50lb. bag. hope this helps.
jerseytankgirl
New member
i don't know how to post pictures here, but i have a lot of detailed pictures of the bags that i bought today. if you would like me to e-mail them to you, let me know.
What a great thread, took me hours to read the whole thing, then I jumped in my car and drove to the local HD (Biddeford, Maine) to grab some... They had some play sand but it was silica. Asked some nice lady about it and she said that Old Castle stopped shipping them the Tropical Play Sand about 4 months ago.
She called Old Castle to see if there was any available and she was told that their supplier went out of business and they could no longer get it! Then she used a computer to check all the stores in Maine, NH, and Mass., all came up with 0 bags of it.
On my way home I stopped in a LFS to see what their prices were, $36.99 for a 20lb bag!! Guess it's time to rethink the DSB...
She called Old Castle to see if there was any available and she was told that their supplier went out of business and they could no longer get it! Then she used a computer to check all the stores in Maine, NH, and Mass., all came up with 0 bags of it.
On my way home I stopped in a LFS to see what their prices were, $36.99 for a 20lb bag!! Guess it's time to rethink the DSB...
Re: SOUTHDOWN OUT OF BUSINESS
Re: SOUTHDOWN OUT OF BUSINESS
I have four bags of the collectors item sand on sale for the value savvy price of $30.00
:lol: Just kidding. I sold all 10 bags a couple years ago. But it's still funny to think it's now a collectors item.
We bought the farm and ran them outta business
Isnt there a place in the midwest somewhere that you can drive up to and shovel all the oolitic sand you want for free? I used to have the link two or three reformats ago....
BTW 30 pages in this thread .... that's out of control heh
Re: SOUTHDOWN OUT OF BUSINESS
Bowman said:
I have four bags of the collectors item sand on sale for the value savvy price of $30.00
:lol: Just kidding. I sold all 10 bags a couple years ago. But it's still funny to think it's now a collectors item.
We bought the farm and ran them outta business
Isnt there a place in the midwest somewhere that you can drive up to and shovel all the oolitic sand you want for free? I used to have the link two or three reformats ago....
BTW 30 pages in this thread .... that's out of control heh
virgin reefer
New member
I live in Canada and can't find Southdown. I did find playsand but it is not white but brown. (ugly IMO). I did find a silica snadblasting sand that says decorative sand on the bag. It is supposed to not melt and never turn colour. It looks like an off white sand and has small particles. It has quartz in it as well which makes it shine cool. It says it is to be used around bricks in the garden. It is just a decorative sand. It is probably at least 80% Silica. I was hoping that you can give me your opinion on this.
Bula Bula!
New member
Add the HD in Downingtown,PA to your list. They have two pallets full of the sand. It has been out in the garden area, and is partially wet. If you ask, they will be willing to discount the sand by 50% ($2.49 per bag).
Aside from the issue of SKU #'s there is an easy way to determine if you have the right type of sand. The appropriate reef tank sand will effervesce when it comes in contact with a small amount of vinegar. The silica based sands, which are not appropriate for reef tanks will have no reaction to vinegar.
Chuck
Aside from the issue of SKU #'s there is an easy way to determine if you have the right type of sand. The appropriate reef tank sand will effervesce when it comes in contact with a small amount of vinegar. The silica based sands, which are not appropriate for reef tanks will have no reaction to vinegar.
Chuck
virgin reefer
New member
great I tried that and there was no bubbles. I asked me dad to stop at a HD in the states and see if he can't find me some.
Bula Bula!
New member
Jarhead:
I'm a former Squid (I helped evacuate Saigon in May '75).
There where a number of people on the Reefland site who checked into shipping bags of sand. The cost of shipping bags becomes cost prohibitive. By the time your done with the shipping costs, your just about where you would be if you went into your LFS and bought a bag of aragonite.
Sorry, otherwise I would be happy to help out a Jarhead.
Chuck
I'm a former Squid (I helped evacuate Saigon in May '75).
There where a number of people on the Reefland site who checked into shipping bags of sand. The cost of shipping bags becomes cost prohibitive. By the time your done with the shipping costs, your just about where you would be if you went into your LFS and bought a bag of aragonite.
Sorry, otherwise I would be happy to help out a Jarhead.
Chuck
Fizz71
FragSwapper
I'll second Chuck's post. Somebody asked me to ship them some once and when I went to the UPS calculator I couldn't believe what it wanted. It's probably the reason sand IS so expensive at the LFSs since they have to have it shipped to them as well. We're just lucky to be close to the distributor.
--Fizz
--Fizz
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