Well here it is my first question. Before I get into that I guess I should tell you about my tank. All was recomended by my LFS.

I have a 55 gal. tank
A overhang Skilter
One power head

Inside I have about 65lbs of live rock
only about a 1-2 inch sand bed
5 turbo snails
5 margarita snails
many red and blue legged hermit crabs
1 unidentified hermit crab with one big claw and an attitude (Big Mean Crab)
and 3 Green Chromis (way cool little starter fish)

As you can tell I have alot of work to be done. My tank has been up for about 3 months and has cycled.

But the first thing is I need to create a DSB to help with my filtration and my nitrate/nitrate problems. I really want to do it with the play sand method which I have read alot about. The only problem I have is the sand that everyone is talking about is no longer made the company went out of business. The only sand I find now is sylicate based (hope I spelled that right).

Can anyone point me in the right direction of a good and cheep sand to use? Either a name brand or just what to look for would really help.

After this problem is solved we get to move on to bigger and better projects, Fuge, Sump, Overflow.....and the reason I started in the first place CORAL!!

Cheers!!
Ron Guiness

Stevej72 just found some argonite sand at Home Depot. http://www.talkingreef.com/forums/general-marine-discussions/2391-southdown-sand.html#post30981 But I can't find the same stuff around here. Same bag & numbers, but a different product that doesn't pass the vinegat test.

So how do you feel about the silica sand debate, Im still very unsure about using it. With the Vinagar test you want to have a reaction before you buy the sand, right?

Hey Ron,

You are right about the cheap source of sand being dried up. Southdown Tropical Play Sand was sold by Home Depot (HD). Yardright brand I believe is no longer available. The company that imported the sand, Marconi, was bought out by Cemex and they stopped importing Aragonite sand, aka Southdown and Yardright. There's two sources of aragonite sand in America, neither of which is going to be cheap for you. Carib Sea (CS) is the sole marketer of aragonite sand for the aquarium trade. Their not cheap.

There is a source in Miami that's cheap but you have to buy a dump truck load and getting it to IL would be more expensive than CS. It's not a pretty picture. I have heard of someone finding Yardright play sand at Lowes or some garden centers. I don't believe it's Aragonite sand though. I live in Ft. Pierce and that used to be the port on entry for most of the Aragonite sand. CS buys an ocean going barge full at a time.

I don't know where to even suggest you look anymore. Sorry.

Dick

Stevej72 just found some argonite sand at Home Depot. http://www.talkingreef.com/forums/general-marine-discussions/2391-southdown-sand.html#post30981 But I can't find the same stuff around here. Same bag & numbers, but a different product that doesn't pass the vinegat test.If Steve did find Southdown Tropical Play Sand (Aragonite) at HD, it must have been some left over because it's no longer being bagged. I bought the last 22 bags at the HD in WI more than a year ago, before we moved to FL.

Well I have read that silica sand is OK because it does not become free but I have never tried it. I have Southdown and am currently looking for some aragonite in order to add to my DSB. If you want to be sure that the sand is calcium based (aragonite) then you want to test that it will dissolve in vinegar. I'm not sure how you could do that at the store, I just buy a bag of the sand and take it home and try it.

Dick, what Stevej found was labled KolorScape and was bagged by Old Castle. It was just in the Southdown thread. At one point in time I had heard that SD had become Old Castle...

Thanks anyway Amphibious.

Ive looked into the Carib Sea sand and it is pretty pricey, with that being said do you think it would be better to just go with more live sand? If so should I still introduce the sand into the tank slow over time or since it is live sand could I put it in all at once? I am going to have to move all of my live rock around to get a nice DSB throught the tank. If I can put all of the sand in at once should I move the inhabatance out during the process including the live rock?

Thanks
P.S. I really dig that quote!

Cheers!!
Ron Guiness

Dick, what Stevej found was labled KolorScape and was bagged by Old Castle. It was just in the Southdown thread. At one point in time I had heard that SD had become Old Castle...I didn't know about the name KolorScape Carmie, thanks. I'll check it out down here.

No, Old Castle was another brand. They all bought it from Marconi by the mega tons and bagged it themselves. I talked to the yard manager here at Ft. Pierce before they were bought out bu Cemex. Cemex, by the way is the largest cement producer in the world. They are based in Mexico with offices world wide. I contacted an office in Texas and they filled me in on a lot of this info.

An interesting side note: Southdown, Old Castle and Yardright all had to have a disclaimer on their bag. It read, "Not intended for aquarium use". Did you see it? Do you know why it was their? Carib Sea had an exclusive contract that they were to be the only marketer for aquarium Aragonite sand. So, the other companies were told they had to have that disclaimer on their "playground sand". That constitutes a monopoly, which is illegal but, who's got the money to take on CS?

Personally, because of that and the recent illegal rock they got caught with, I've never done business with them and never will.

I havent heard about the illegal rock thing...what happened?

They got caught importing a bunch of rock without the proper permits. Here is the link: Southern District of Florida - Press Release (http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/fls/PressReleases/061108-04.html)

I just went to HD and found Kolorscape White Play Sand. I have seen another post in these forums about it here is a link to it http://www.talkingreef.com/forums/general-marine-discussions/2391-southdown-sand.html#post30981
(sorry not really sure how to embed the link)

This is the exact same kind made by Southdown and the same blue package. I just wanted to run it by you guys to see if it is the right kind. I hope it is because my HD had about 2 pallets of it. If it is I will probably start adding it tomorrow or tonight. I am also going to try to get some before and after pics to show you guys. I think I will also start a tank journal so we can see our progress.

Thanks again for all of your help.

Cheers!!!
Ron Guiness

Haha guess I do know how to put up a link!

Maybe I should go take a look in my area. Don't know what I would do with it since both tanks are now BB.

Great find you guys. I'll check around here. I'm certainly glad it's back on the market.

Ron,

Did you try the vinegar test?