Where can i get Southdown/old castle??

Silica Sand
Rob Toonen
Posted to Reefkeepers emailing list, Saturday 18th September 1999.
Thats 7 years ago, not sure that is up to date info.

If I was settng up a reef I'd make sure not to add anything that could have the chance of causing problems. Saltwater tanks are just to expensive to risk skipping on something that could cause a problem.
!000 on Live rock
1000 on corals
500 onfish
1500 on water movement and pumps
20 bucks on sand just doesn't match up to me
Erik
 
Like I said I did it at first to save money because the only aragonite sand i could find was 30 to 50 dollars a bag. When I did find Southdown I put it in my fuge and upon setting up my 150 I used Southdown (Yardright).

This is an argument that will go on for forever with neither side proving beyond a doubt that they are right and the other one is wrong.

All am saying is that for the year or so that I used regular ol' playsand I had no problems. No algea issues no cyno outbreaks, the sand filled with critters and was a thriving part of my tanks bio system.

But I am also a ghetto reefer at heart and in practice. If I could afford all the bells and whistles I would.
 
Well if it worked for you then why change it.
This is a new guy to reefing and if we say its ok to use is that really Responsible. Theres so many brands out there and different companys that don't have the same standards. There really could be anything in them besides silica sand. If its not labled for aquarium use I'd stay away from it unless theres a proven track record on that brand such as south down or old castle
IMO its just not worth the risk but it is possible to do. :)
Erik
 
I changed it because as I stated I found it, and I upgraded in tank size. Had I not upgraded, even if I had found it I would still be using it, as tearing it out would have been a worse nightmare.
If I could not find it and had to pay 30 to 50 a bag for it I would have put it (playsand) in the new tank and been done with it.
Hey like I said before it is a never ending debate. As far as being responsible .....come on, like you said it will work. There is a ton of people out there still using it and still keeping great reefs.
 
please people good clean sand is, good clean sand.
Ive used bolth types sucessfuly. I had silica sand in my first sucessfull reef (1989-1993) I ran that tank with lr a 2"sand bed cc skimer ,sump and no florecent lighting, corals were softies and a few lps. they grew and multipled.

my curent tank has a 4-5" sand bed. It is a mix of cc, crushed shells, course reef sand and yardright sand. although it is way more sucessfull then my first reef.the primary diference is 10x beter skimmer. 5X the lighting. 5x the circulation. 100x beter info and testing about calcium etc.

calcium based sands are what is most comonly found in the ocean near reefs. therefore it may be a more natural choice. when trying to duplicate the look of near reef environments.

silica play sand is a byprodunt from quarying silica quarts (if I understand granite actualy) it is produced by eroding the rock with rediculusly high pressure water.
thus it is also as clean and pure as good quality calcium sand.(also a byproduct of quarying)
it is inert ,solid, non- porus rock crystals. granite is used on buildings and monuments for its resistance to acid rain.It used in machine shops and labs for its resitance to to all sorts of chemicals and dinensional stability at various tempreatures.
further more play sand has a decent grain size that is less prone to creating a dust storm in your tank.

sand is sand

my $0.02

Steve,
 
wow this discussion really took off

Well i was given some sand last night, from one of the C-Sea members. It just says QuickCreate Premium Playsand.

He said hes used it like crazy in all his tanks with no issues, but im not ignoring eriks points. If i ever end up with problems, i know what to suspect.

I filled up, and set up the skimmer. Of corse its CLOUDY. by morning it was only half as cloudy and im trying to seal a cracked HOB so i can filter the rest of the particles out

Appreciate the help guys
 
I found that cleaning the inside of that skimmer cup every 3 days or so really improves its performance too.
Maybe clean it everyday till the sand cloud goes away
Erik
 
Also keep in mind that most skimmers seem to have a break in period, and get better after a week or so. Also they will not work in fresh water, no bubbles at all.
 
yea i have the salt mixed up to .023

I got this from chuck at C-sea last nite (THANK YOU CHUCK!) he won it, but it was way too small for his setup

ANyways, this thing doesnt require and airstone, it uses a powerhead and blasts the water into a like a tornado


While im here, without starting another thread but possibly another argument, i bought this rock from RMS awhile back and threw it in my FW tank. My eel loved it. Its this orangish, peach colored rock< VERY porus, lotsa little holes and crevices. It was in use for about a year then i pulled it out when i switched fully planted

Theres alittle bit of green algae stains on it

My Q is, could this be used like base rock? IE if i put it with some LR, will it grow live? Or would this whole peice just be bad to add into the tank for chemical reasons?

Thanks guys uve been great help
I do have bubbles all in the main chamber, but NOTHING in the collection cup. ALOT of the sand is in the bubbles in the main chamber
 
I've always stuck with calcium based rock{/dead coral/shells/live rock}.

you can do the vineger test to determine if it is a calcium based rock. but most likely it is not.
 
Sounds like Lava rock, again theres mixed opions on it. I wouldn't use it because it doesn't look like live rock, and is really porous. But thats just me.
But as the sand people are using it and nt having problems.
 
Eric's right sounds like lava rock, you would be better of getting some live rock, or at least base rock that will eventualy become live. That said I don't think ( think being the operative here ) there would be any chemicals in the piece to cause you a problem, just not a rock you would normaly see in a reef setting.
You can also go with a fish only tank until you get your feet good and wet and save the expenses associated with a reef set up, ie., flow, lights, live rock and coral.
 
That rock sounds like it could be what they call "Texas Holey Rock". Most people buy it when they get into cichlids to help buffer the PH up a bit. You could try the vinegar test since it would be calcium based if it was meant to buffer PH.

Most of this hobby is about reading 1,000 opinions to gather info and then form your own. Don't let anyone tell you what to think. You seemed like you have the whole freshwater planted thing figured out pretty well. You will do fine with your salty tank.

There will always be a couple people on the extreme ends like "DON'T DARE DO IT! " and then the other guys saying "I DID IT AND IT WORKED GREAT!" for every one of those guys there are probably 500 guys who have tried and worked ok or they didn't like the results and changed it.

If you read threads about deep sand beds (DSB) or plenums or skimmers or even glass vs. acrylic (or you might have seen the MAC vs. PC, AMD vs. Intel or ATI vs. NVidia) there will be both sides represented in extremes and moderately.

What it all boils down to is to read, read, read then ask questions and then act. If you don't, the results will most likely be a dead animal or several. Move slowly and enjoy the learning because in no time you will probably be on one side or the other in this same type of discussion.

Also, if it weren't for people experimenting with things like this we wouldn't be where we are in the hobby today. Protein skimmers are fairly new, undergravel filters used to be the thing to do, there were wet/dry filters and nobody had heard of a refugium. So, things evolve and it is only due to people trying new or controversial things for themselves and documenting the results for others to learn from.

___ Disclaimer:This comment is not directed toward anyone or meant to be misconstrued as an insult. ___

Have fun! It ain't called a hobby for nuthin'

-- Kevin
 
Well put Kevin. I've often said if we all did everything the same in this hobby things wouldn't be nearly as fun. We wouldn't even have much to talk about at meetings...

MadSkillzMan,
I don't know if salty critter has any in the store now, but they often have live base rock for $3/pound.
 
is lava rock and tufta rock the same thing? because well they dont look the same? lol the lava rock i've seen is red and yeah more used in chiclid tanks as well as the tufta (whish MSM is askin about) lol
*Just adding my two cents* :)
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6280095#post6280095 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by sagi
The SKU for Home Depot is 578-819 for Tropical Play Sand, and you may have to special order it (minimum 10 bags).
Canton Road Garden Center in Akron had Yardright last Spring.
I am looking to pick up a bag or 2 myself.
Click to expand...

I called up home depot and they couldn't find the SKU number in their system.

Does anyone know of any other places to find the "Southdown" sand at?

RMS charges over $50 for a 40 pound bag.
 
Not sure, but I think south down went out of business. A brand that people use which is considered the same thing is Old castle. Do a search for that and see if you can find a SKU for it
Erik
 
As mentioned in this thread, go to Canton Road Nursery. They probably do not have right now. You need to talk to the owner/store manager, not the women at the conter. Ask the main guy when he is getting it in and if he can get it sooner. Last time I was there I bought 10 bags.
 
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