All you EVER wanted to know about Southdown
- Thread starter Grumpy Vet
- Start date
- Status
DitchPlains2
In Memoriam
150 bucks
150 bucks
All blown on Carrib Sea, and Nature's Own sand. I like the Bermuda pink variant.
Couldnt find any souhtdown.
Has anyone ever used ESV? I did, its great stuff but you got to keep a powerhead on the stuff or you get red slime build up.
Dave
150 bucks
All blown on Carrib Sea, and Nature's Own sand. I like the Bermuda pink variant.
Couldnt find any souhtdown.
Has anyone ever used ESV? I did, its great stuff but you got to keep a powerhead on the stuff or you get red slime build up.
Dave
Southdown doesn't exist anymore neither does Old castle someone asked about some other playsand called Sandtastik,
called the co and it definately won't work, (will stay in suspension)! too light. It sounds like the days of cheap sand are over unless someone happens upon a HD that had a huge quantity and still has some left. The only other alternative seems to be silica HD has pleanty of that under the Pavestone brand name. If anyone's been following the forum threads on silica use
you all know the pros and cons by now. Personally I'd rather not risk it since I'm wanting the benefits of buffering the calc. My LFS
here in town says he doesn't even like the Carib Sea live sand
"too many bad critters" and no telling if it's fresh. He Only sells the Carib stuff that is a little coarser than sugar fine.
called the co and it definately won't work, (will stay in suspension)! too light. It sounds like the days of cheap sand are over unless someone happens upon a HD that had a huge quantity and still has some left. The only other alternative seems to be silica HD has pleanty of that under the Pavestone brand name. If anyone's been following the forum threads on silica use
you all know the pros and cons by now. Personally I'd rather not risk it since I'm wanting the benefits of buffering the calc. My LFS
here in town says he doesn't even like the Carib Sea live sand
"too many bad critters" and no telling if it's fresh. He Only sells the Carib stuff that is a little coarser than sugar fine.
chrisguy
New member
Old Castle does still exist. Package 1 came from a local KMart and package 3 came from a local Wal Mart. Both say packaged by Old Castle for "blah blah blah". The company address and phone number is the same as the old packages.
Ignore package 2, it was junk and has since been added to my kids sandbox.
Ignore package 2, it was junk and has since been added to my kids sandbox.
foghorn911
New member
For what it is worth - I talked to a rep from Old Castle earlier this year looking for a distributor of the old southdown sand. I was told that the island they used to mine the sand from was sold to an oil/gas company. He said they used to mine the sand and other aggregate from the island and barge it to Pennsylvania for distribution.
Oldcastle is still packaging and selling sand - just not the old southdown "tropical" type.
Oldcastle is still packaging and selling sand - just not the old southdown "tropical" type.
Perhaps instead of throwing sand out people will now clean it & recycle / re-use it now
I still have some stockpiled for my next tank
I still have some stockpiled for my next tank
Well you put the sand in a very hot furnace and make nice glass flower pots out of it. 
I know of no way to recycle sand. You can reactivate older sand by adding new LS to it or buying a detrivore kit. Doc Ron recommends doing that every couple of years.
Storage for any length of time can be a real headache. In an environment where there is little detritus or food getting to the sand the pods and such will decline and finally disappear. One can add a pinch of food to the slightly submerged sand from time to time to slow,but not entirely prevent, this decline. I'd say after about 2-3 months you will need to reactivate the sand in some way if you plan to use it in the near future.
I know of no way to recycle sand. You can reactivate older sand by adding new LS to it or buying a detrivore kit. Doc Ron recommends doing that every couple of years.
Storage for any length of time can be a real headache. In an environment where there is little detritus or food getting to the sand the pods and such will decline and finally disappear. One can add a pinch of food to the slightly submerged sand from time to time to slow,but not entirely prevent, this decline. I'd say after about 2-3 months you will need to reactivate the sand in some way if you plan to use it in the near future.
Radicaljbr
Active member
If I can add my nonexpertise 2 cents worth. This thread is about southdown sand which is bought in bags at your local harware store or landscaping store where playsand is sold. This sand is non active and dead when bought (am I right so far?). You have to activate it some how by more LS, LR and a detrivore kit mentioned by TOM. If you wanted to recycle it, I would wash it clean and then let dry and wait for next tank setup. Then use as you would when buying it from the HD store. I would not use it straight from one tank to another as it might be toxic after mixing it all up.
Does this sound correct? Anyone? Because this is what I plan on doing.
Does this sound correct? Anyone? Because this is what I plan on doing.
Sounds good to me. Sure if you want to store Southdown, or any other sand, as base sand just give it a good washing and let it air dry for a few days. Then store it. Even better is to soak it in a fairly strong bleach solution ( a quarter cup per gallon) for a couple of days then rinse well and let it air dry before storage. The latter method pretty much gets it back to the original condition and avoids some decomposition when you get ready to reuse it. When that time comes just seed with LS or a kit.
Thanks for bringing that up Rad. I assumed Wmf was talking about storing LS.
:lol: After a thread reaches 34 pages it is easy to lose track of the original subject.
Thanks for bringing that up Rad. I assumed Wmf was talking about storing LS.
:lol: After a thread reaches 34 pages it is easy to lose track of the original subject.
Octoberfest
New member
In case anyone in the CT, Eastern NY, or Western Mass. area is looking for Soutdown sand I just purchased some at a store called Agway in Westfield, Mass. when I was home on vacation.
Pretty funny story, but the cliff notes of it would be that bringing back a couple bags of play sand on a flight from Mass to North Carolina went over a little wierd with the baggage screeners and the TSA at the airport. It took them a while before the realized that it actually was Play Sand. It was cheaper than mailing it and since all I brought was a carry on it worked out for me.
Pretty funny story, but the cliff notes of it would be that bringing back a couple bags of play sand on a flight from Mass to North Carolina went over a little wierd with the baggage screeners and the TSA at the airport. It took them a while before the realized that it actually was Play Sand. It was cheaper than mailing it and since all I brought was a carry on it worked out for me.
Hi Forest
[welcome]
Just tell the Airport security you plan to bomb someone back into the Stone Age.
[welcome]
Just tell the Airport security you plan to bomb someone back into the Stone Age.
- Status
Similar threads
