Couldn't find Southdown at Lowe's or Home Depot

[big boy69]

So i bought Kwikcrete(sp?) Premium Playsand.
Will that work for putting my live sand over top????

 

[malounsbury]

Check the bag to see if its some sort of argonite sand. If it has silicon in it, its not going to be good for your tank.

 

[lefty]

Just a word of caution--
I went to both stores looking for Southdown, but they both didn't carry it. I decided to buy the playsand they had at Home Depot, and then I planned on buying a bag of pretty white sand to put on top of it. Well, when I added the playsand to my tank, it made a huge sandstorm. The sandstorm didn't go away. The water stayed a dark, murky brown for the 4-5 days I let it sit. It didn't show any signs of clearing up, so I ended up dumping all the RO/DI water out of my tank, took the sand out, cleaned the tank up, and went and purchased some pretty white sand from *****. Also, the playsand was pretty ugly when it was wet--a dark brown color.
You may not have this problem, but I felt it my duty to share my experience. I even rinsed the sand before I put it in. If you do end up using the playsand, be sure to rinse it very very well. I wouldn't want anyone to have the same problem I did.
-lefty

 

[big boy69]

My plan was to put it in a pillow case and soak the ---- out of it then transfer it to the tank.
Maybe i won't even use it.
I checked the bag to see if it has any sislicone in it and i can't see it listed anywhere on the bag. Maybe i'll see if it's on their web site to tell me more.

 

[lefty]

I believe it is silica based. But, a lot of people on this board do use silica based sand without problems. Generally though, people will advise you against it.
-lefty

 

[jgterrywv]

There is a test you can do with vinegar to check for silicas. You add some vinegar to the sand and if it bubbles/dissolves, it is calcium carbonate sand and OK to use.
Search this site, there are several threads concerning sand other than Southdown.
https://www.saltwaterfish.com/vb/show...gar+and+silica

 

[wwfstyle]

Check with your LFS they usually charge about $30-$35 a bag. Ya I know thats high but if you cannt find it then it's worth it. My LFS just gets it from there dealer with there supply order.

 

[mbrands]

Originally posted by wwfstyle
Check with your LFS they usually charge about $30-$35 a bag. Ya I know thats high but if you cannt find it then it's worth it.
I couldn't agree more with wwfstyle!! I bought 2 50 pound bags of aragonite (not live) sand from my LFS. It has taken me about 3 weeks to remove all of the crushed coral I had in there to start. Tonight I added about 30 pounds . . . its tough to do because I don't want to remove my LR. The sand looks 1,000 times better and it is not brown or mucky at all. I added it without having to rinse it and it didn't cloud up my tank at all.

 

[spankey]

The trick to finding the southtown in the home depots is to look in the garden section.. I found two bags of southtown here in the Pottstown Home Depot last weekend...
And, yes the pillow case is what I do, but I run a garden hose on full blast to swirl the dust out of the sand.... This should work for you.....
Hope I was helpful...
Spankey

 

[cowfishrule]

the hd by my house has 2 pallets of southdown sand
you gotta look outside, they never keep it inside
i betcha thats why so many people cannot find it

 

[big boy69]

I just found some at the HD in Hilltown, PA 215-723-0668,
I believe there is like 40 or 140 bags left.
It's not made by South Down, i think it said Dura something?
But it is white Tropical Play sand. I'm picking up two bags tonight. I think it was $4.99 for 50lbs.

 

[cowfishrule]

it should be this

 

[big boy69]

Very similiar looking bag, but mine is made by Newcastle.

 

[spankey]

Exact same sand.. I even seen it called white castle... I will be adding my 100lbs to my new 46 gallon bowfront today.. I will be doing this pillow case though.. I can't tell you how well that works.... I swear by it now... After cleaning filter floss for about 30 times a day to try to filter the sand dust before I did the pillow case... What a difference this is....
Spankey

 

[cowfishrule]

i didnt do the pillowcase thing, and the inside of my fluval ended up looking like afghanistan

 

[spankey]

LOL-
Thats exactly what it will look like... Its just big headache... I made the mistake of leaving my southtown in the back of my grand cherokee till today... we have cold weather here like in the single digits.... Now my sand is a rock..... Go figure...LOL
Spankey

 

[big boy69]

On the outside of my newcastle bags it says not for aquarium use. I wonder if the indusrwas getting pissed at them??
But it says from the caribbean, tropical play sand, no silicone,. steralized.

 

[malounsbury]

The southdown/yardright stuff says the same thing. It's just a disclaimer they put on there so they aren't liable.