Southdown?

SouthDown Tropical Play Sand... All I've found around me has been silica based sands and I keep hearing good things about Southdown and would like to find some to use in my tank. Southdown is an aragonite based sand if I understood correctly.
 
Talk about old school. I haven't seen it around in ages, but then again, I haven't tried to look for it in a while.
 
Yeah, I've lost count of how many reef forums I've found that had long threads on just finding the stuff in various locations. I was hoping someone here might know of a local source or of another non-silica based alternative. I found a place online that sells Southdown/Old Castle around $4 per 50 lb. bag and that seems like a good deal but shipping would be over $60. o_O
 
The stores around here sold out of southdown in about 2003, I think...maybe 2004.

I wouldn't expect to find any around here but good luck! I hope you do!
 
I don't think they sell it anymore. Something about the company being bought out and not supplying the same sand. Do a RC search for southdown for the threads on it.
 
Anybody around here still have some stashed away? I had an extra bag for a while, but gave it away a couple years back.
 
I called a few of the Home Depot stores in the Northeast this morning and found one that described a .4 cu ft bag of white play sand that sounded like it matched the description but when I was handed off to talk to a manager to see if I could get some of that sand transferred to a Knoxville store, he said that they didn't have it... This is a most frustrating hunt.
 
That looks like it. Only way to tell for sure it to test some of it, but the "extra fine" and "soft texture" statements make me believe this is what we are talking about.
 
Oh good. I intend to contact this place tomorrow or Monday and find out more about it. I don't like the idea of spending so much more on shipping than the product being shipped but if this stuff is ideal and inexpensive then I want it.
 
Depending on how much you need, but another option is to look at That Fish Place. They currently have a flat $5.99 shipping rate including oversized items. It may be cheaper and you would know it was aragonite. Also, have you priced it out at the LFS as well? They may be able to get you a good deal on some.
 
Thanks for the info, Donny, and I may place an order for some salt and a few other goodies from there. There's a rather limited selection of substrates, though.

TheGreatHardwareStore will be open tomorrow and I'll find out more about their Southdown white play sands then. They have four different bags of Southdown/old Castle .4CUFT White Play Sand all with different UPC codes, pricing and shipping rates so I need to know what's different about each one. I'll be sure to let you guys know what they say in case anyone else is looking for a source of this stuff.
 
If you look close the package says not to be used in aquariums. If is means freshwater only, then it might be the right stuff.
 
Have you checked out Marco Rocks for sand, 80 lbs Bahama Aragonite would be $60 shipped, or at least the last time I looked it was.
 
TriMax said:
If you look close the package says not to be used in aquariums. If is means freshwater only, then it might be the right stuff.
Click to expand...

Somewhere in the "all you ever wanted to know about southdown" thread here on Reef Central they discussed that distributors were forbidden from marketing the play sand product for use with aquariums. The same sand mined for the play sand was also being sold to a separate distributor that packed it in CaribSea packages of aquarium sand. That's if I read it correctly. That thread is really long and I don't want to go hunting for that info right now since it's past my bedtime...

planejane said:
Have you checked out Marco Rocks for sand, 80 lbs Bahama Aragonite would be $60 shipped, or at least the last time I looked it was.
Click to expand...
That's actually not a bad deal at all. If my call tomorrow leads me to believe I shouldn't buy the Southdown I may get sand and perhaps some rock from Marco Rocks. Both the rock selection and the sand there look really nice. Thanks for the heads up!
 
One thing about Southdown is it is very small grained almost a powder sometimes. I used it in my tank and have removed all but a few pounds because of this.

I know people love it etc but other than it being cheap there really is no advantage to it vs. a "made for reef tanks" sand.
 
Okay, I spoke with a sales rep from TheGreatHardwareStore and they couldn't really tell me what the sand was made up of so they gave me a number to speak with the manufacturer directly. I just got off the phone with Southdown and the guy I spoke with said that the white play sand I was looking at does contain silica. So, I guess I may just go with Marco Rocks and pick up some rocks while I'm at it.

Thanks for the help, guys. I do appreciate it. :)
 
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