South down sand

[MIKE NY1]

I think it's great stuff and I wish I would have found out about it sooner. I had about 3" of oolite down when I wanted to make the sandbed deeper, so I added another 50lbs of SD. It created a sandstorm for a day or so and then I had to keep cleaning the rockwork off as it settled. After a few months, the critter population increased and it doesn't fly around anymore. Four dollars for a fifty pound bag, you can't beat it. Also it caused havic with my skimmer so I shut it down for awhile.

Mike

 

[jas1292]

Hey Mike,

Thanks for the info. In my previous post I was telling everyone about the cloud in my new tank that will not go away. About four days now. They gave me some good info. I decided to call my lfs and ask them if there was anything i could do to clear it up. They told me south down was not good for reef tanks and that i should remove it. One even said it would kill my fish when i finally put them in. They got kind of mad when I told that that it is the same stuff as the caribsea. Go figure. They will not get anymore of my money. Thanks again for the info.

 

[esmithiii]

Jas- that is a load of bull (from your LFS) I have had SD in two different tanks, both were extremly healthy. My 180 has 6" of SD sand. Only problem is it is quite hard to come by these days.

 

[Anonymous]

Have to agree with E that your LFS is giving you a line of BS. In fact, if you read this thread, you will find that SD and the Carib sand are the exact same thing, from he same manufacturer/supplier. Thought it was very interesting. South Down

 

[jas1292]

Yeah I know.
They were thinking that i would run over to there store and buy a 150 of sand. They were wrong. I dont think i will use them for anything else. It really makes me mad.
Thanks for the info.

 

[Anonymous]

Typical.

 

[lawndoctor]

This past summer I bought a batch that was contaminated with some unknown substance, made a mess of my tank, and coincided precisely with the deaths of many of my inverts. At least one other person on this board had similar problems with this stuff. I told of my experience in response to a post similar to yours and I quickly discovered how vehement people are about their faith in this stuff. You may wind up agreeing with the majority on this one, but first you may want to consider the risks involved. A search should provide you with the pros and cons and some alternative sources of less expensive reef sand if you are interested. Good luck.

 

[dobish]

jas....have you tried skimming the "cloudiness" out? What I have found is that "cloud" is actually extremely small clay size particles of sand. These particles will eventually settle out, otherwise you should be able to skim them out with a good skimmer.

 

[jas1292]

Just wondering if anyone had any problems with the south down play sand. And what you all think about it.