Sand to use for DSB?

[bartman]

I was wondering what would be an apropriate sand to use for a deep sand bed. I know southdown is ideal but i get these funny looks when i ask for it. Most places here never heard of it. I assume it needs to be a fine grain sand. I also know that not all sands are good either due to silicates or something like that. I just bought some play sand that is very fine and its sterilized (sp??). Its a very fine sand and wont break the bank to buy but i bought that stuff for something else. I guess the real question is: How do i know if a sand is ok or if it is not ok to use in my tank? The fact that this stuff says its sterilized and asbestos free ( never knew sand to have asbestos) seems to make it a decent canidate. Anyways enough rambling. Any info would be greatly apreciated.
Bartman
<img src="graemlins//angel.gif" border="0" alt="[angel]" />

 

[demosthenes]

I would check to see if it has silicates, and j/w, but is it white? Because my first mistake in the DSB area was to buy 100 lbs of grey sand, didn't know it made a difference, and it made my DSB really ugly, well, that was a waste of a lot of LS, and also some ugly PS, but I worked it out, and now have 220 lbs of nice, white LS.

 

[bartman]

Its not white but a light brown almost white. I see you are a Orson Scott Card reader as well . Loved that series. I assume that its gonna get mucky so i guess that white sand would be the way to go. Did you add some LS to the exsisting sand you have now to get the critters to move in or did it migrate from the LR?
Bartman
<img src="graemlins//angel.gif" border="0" alt="[angel]" />

 

[bartman]

Oh and what is j/w?

 

[bartman]

Ok just went out to look at the sand bag. There is nothing on there about silicates. The sand also seems to have some type of white poweder in it so i would think that this is not the sand for a tank.
Bartman
<img src="graemlins//angel.gif" border="0" alt="[angel]" />

 

[justinx]

I used aragonite sugar sized or oolitic sand. Its is nice and white, and very fine. It can be kinda pricey though. about a buck a pound

 

[demosthenes]

J/W means "just wondering". As for me, I did seed my PS with LS. For the PS I went to Kids'R'Us, and they were having a sale on they're PS, white of course, and it was $4.99, $5.24 w/ tax, for a 50 lb bag. Needless to say, the stuff was perfect, I bought 5 bags, and now use it in all my tanks. It's a sugar-fine sand, white, and it's gr-r-r-eat! Well, got that out of my system. GL with your DSB.