Southdown Sand can you still get it?

[JesterGrin_1]

Just wondering if Southdown sand is still available?

Thank You.

[hobogato]

this comes up every once in a while. i know the last i heard was you cant get it thru home depot or lowes like you could previously. i dont think i have seen anyone find a reliable source for it in several years. some people have suggested using pulvarized limestone instead, but i have never tried it.

[JesterGrin_1]

I have a 6 foot 125Gal and really do not wish to spend what 30.00 a bag to put a 2 or 3 inch sand bed in it. Any ideas?

I know silica sand is Bad.

[hobogato]

you might be able to find someone on here that has sand to sell, that is usually what i do when i need sand - post a wanted ad. just be sure to rinse until you are tired of rinsing and then rinse again before using it. silica sand is not a great choice for a couple of reasons:

1. the granules are sharp and jagged so sand dwellers dont do as well
2. it doesnt have the buffering properties that aragonite sand has

i think some of our sponsors carry dry aragonite for a reasonable price

[allan]

I have a few buckets that I was fixing to put up for $5 each. I used four of them (after rinsing, and rinsing, and rinsing them again, and then once more for good measure) to cover the bottom of my 350. I think I have three. Each one is about 60-80 lbs. I imagine, all I know it's heavy as heck.

[Big_Pun]

I used the carib sea special reef grade that comes in 40lb bags I have a 150g tank 5x2 and it took 3 bags to get a about 2 inch sand bed. thinks its about 30-40 a bag.

[SoLiD]

Don't fret on the sand prices. Pick the one you want and you'll see that you will need a lot less than you were thinking. This always happens to me.

[JesterGrin_1]

Allan I may Take you up on some Sand.

This will be a bit long of an explanation lol.

I Currently have an approximately 8 in Deep Plenum system in my tank that has been in there Oh not long about 12 years lol. And I was thinking that right now all I have in the tank is a tank of Rock and a Yellow Tang (Thanks Allen ) and a Bristle Tooth Tang 15 Turbo snails I think and 20 strombus grazers(Thanks Jamie P ). And was thinking ( I know Could be a BAD THING lol. ) about pulling everything out and just going back with a standard 2 or 3 inch Sand Bed. Is this a waste of time to do?

[JesterGrin_1]

Don't fret on the sand prices. Pick the one you want and you'll see that you will need a lot less than you were thinking. This always happens to me.

Well I am pretty darn tapped out for funds since my A/C went out and I had to take care of that plus I am going to place an order for 2 Luminbright Mini's and 2 72 Inch VHO's and 2 Sets of Sun lift Yo-Yo's.

[hobogato]

if you do that, i would recommend less than 1" or over 4" deep. between those depths, the sand is not deep enough to be a functional deep sand bed and becomes a detritus trap because it it too deep to keep clean.

[JesterGrin_1]

So in other words just leave it alone?

hobogato I have been meaning to ask what ever became of the Cuttle Fish? I have always thought they were neat critters. :)

[hobogato]

hobogato I have been meaning to ask what ever became of the Cuttle Fish? I have always thought they were neat critters. :)

the ones that i had in the clam tank? i lost them at about 6 months old because of a pH swing after nuking a bunch of aiptasia in the main tank with kalk paste.

[JesterGrin_1]

Sorry to hear that Ace I did hope that you would get lucky with at least one of them.

[tiger_eyed1]

I'm going to start going to the plant nurseries around town and look. There is a good chance that someone has the Caribbean play sand (loose, not in bags). We found two places in Florida that carried it. All we had to do is sift and rinse it. I have 400+ lbs of it in my tanks.

[JesterGrin_1]

Going to Florida for me would be a bit much lol. I hope you have great luck with your search and please report your findings as I am sure everyone would be happy to hear it. :)