Southdown Playsand

T

tucker3940

Guest
Was wondering what the concensus was on Southdown Tropical Playsand for use in a reef tank. I've read a lot about how it is the same as CaribSea's argonite sand, but the bag says 'not for use in aquariums.' Just wondering if anyone had ever had problems with it.
 
nacl-h2o

nacl-h2o

Active Member
That is just a disclaimer to protect Southdown from litigation. The sand is not handled or processed as it sould be for the aquarium trade and SD wants to protect themselves in this sue happy enviornment we have these days. I have not heard of any problems in t's use and I haven't had any myself.
 
mini-reefer

mini-reefer

Member
Ive got three tanks running now with Southdown in the DSB. I have not had anything out of the normal and my 72 bow is looking better than ever.
 
jakob4001

jakob4001

Member
well I've also heard that it's very hard to get now; HD used to carry it, but no longer does; when I called SD HQ, found out they were bought out & that the contents would not longer be the same according to phone rep
 
nickoz

nickoz

Member

Originally posted by Bang Guy
I have almost 3000 pounds of Southdown in my system. I only see benefits.
Bang Guy,
How has your tank been running that is using Southdown?
-nick
 
nickoz

nickoz

Member

Originally posted by Mini-Reefer
Ive got three tanks running now with Southdown in the DSB. I have not had anything out of the normal and my 72 bow is looking better than ever.
Mini-Reefer,
Do you have pictures online of your 72 gallon bow? Also how long have your tanks been running with Southdown.
 
j21kickster

j21kickster

Active Member
Im not sure about how many problems it would create- it is 100% aragonite (fine grade) it comes from the ocean at one point so.. i have never heard any one post w/ problems with it
 
nickoz

nickoz

Member
I just bought 400lbs for my main tank, nano and refugium. I have just added 150lb to my main tank. Looks nice... well the water is chocolate milk but the sand looks nice!
-nick
 
fishfood

fishfood

Member
I have 3 bags of it down here in florida that my parents drove down to me. Well they didn't drive down to bring the sand but brought it along on vacation. I'm just going to keep it stored until i want to set up an new tank. I used Bonsai play sand or something like that. Been up and running with no problems for 6 months.
 
hnf2k

hnf2k

Active Member
i have it in my tank and i hate it. if you get big enough fish they will kick it up. it took forever for my tank to settle. to this day i still have to change my trickle filter's pad every week or so. huge mistake, not worth the money saved.
 
fshhub

fshhub

Active Member
HNF2K
unfortunately, SD does have its drawback, it is powdery and until things mature a bit, any fine aragonite, can offer problems as you have experienced. But the good news is, it will settle down, your tank is still very young, trust me, it will settle and stay that way, soon. I do prefer Live sand persoanally.
All I am saying is, hang in there, the dsb of small grained aragonite, will pay off. Soon too. It just takes time, and requires bacteria or something to keep it form clouding. But does happen
 
nickoz

nickoz

Member

Originally posted by fshhub
...and until things mature a bit...
fshhub,
How long would you say it would take for a tank to 'mature' as you mentioned.....
...Let me retract that question, obviously it cannot realistically be answered, this would depend on what you are doing with your tank, reef, fo, fowlr, etc, size, filtration, how much LR, how much LS, bioload....
Better yet, assuming that it is a just say 75-120 gallon tank, berlin method, FOWLR (to start, plan for future reef), 5in DSB.
How would you suggest to force a tank to 'mature'?
-nick
 
fshhub

fshhub

Active Member
wait,
it took our 55 a couple of months, after the cycle before it got to the point, where sand dust was no longer an issue
 
hnf2k

hnf2k

Active Member
my sand was fine after it was added and the tank cleared up...then we added the 3 groupers to help the cycle along like the lfs said(NO COMMENTS!) they kicked up the sand big time. well, they didnt make it, so my tank again settled. now i added a cleanup crew of hermits and snails. and when the hermits dig, they release like dust and sand into the water, and it just lingers there. and every week or so since i added them i hafta change the pad on the trickle filter or it wont work properly and the water will just overflow and bypass the tricklefilter. so im hoping you are right. but as of now, i hate it.
 
wrassecal

wrassecal

Active Member
I switched from cc to dsb using southdown about 3months ago. I had the milk vat look for a couple days, but everything settled within 4 days and I love it.
 
mini-reefer

mini-reefer

Member
You can click on the WWW below and there are pictures of my 72 bow from the beginning. I havent updated in awhile, but will be adding an updated folder here soon.
IMO you have to use the southdown as a base for the DSB. Then use live sand for the upper layer. This helps keep the clouding down. Now that my tank has been running for 7 months I dont have any issues with clouding at all. It was a good decision IMO to use the southdown.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top