Southdown sand?

[reefNewbie]

I was considering looking into some of this sand and had a few questions. First, where can i find information on the Berlin method? and second what color is the southdown sand? yelow or white? thanks guys

 

[Reefguide]

You just said it....

http://www.berlinmethod.com

 

[Anonymous]

southdown is white

 

[wade1]

Southdown is a fine granular sugar sized araganite (dead coral skeleton, pulverized into sand). The same as oolitic grade retail sands.

As for the berlin method, most people cross over the strict definition, but here is a layout for the typical modern reeftank:

http://reefs.org/ops/wade/berlindiagram.jpg

Wade

 

[Anonymous]

There are other tropical playsands out there as well. I do forget their names though. You can get some and drop a spoonful of the sand into vinegar, if it bubbles up it is aragonite. If not it is either silica or other type of crushed up substrate.

 

[Anonymous]

there was a thread a while back titled something like "all you ever wanted to know about southdown" it had great stuff on the sand, and the company that produces it.

Brett

 

[willmsbrg]

I just added Southdown to my sand bed lastnight... I really rinsed it well first..and it still did a number on my tank.. It has cleared this morning. but I have a very light coating on My rock and glass.. I guess time for the turkey baster... :roll:

 

[Casey1]

I put SD in my tank and it seems to clump up at the top. I have a Fighting Conch to sift through it but I still get a lot of clumps. Is this normal? Thanks

 

[Marcosreef]

http://reefs.org/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=24

Here's the thread on Southdown.

Marco

 

[Anonymous]

Southdown is a fine granular sugar sized araganite (dead coral skeleton, pulverized into sand).

Hi Wade, It's not much of a difference, but it may matter to someone deciding to add Southdown to their reef.

Southdown is Oolitic sand. There is an odd phenomenon that happens in the Carribean and the Great Salt Lake. Calcium Carbonate precipitates out of solution and produces little eggs-shaped (oolithic) balls, very similar to hail.

This is what Sounthdown is made of. I only make the distinction because pulverized coral skeletons would have sharp edges that would be detrimental to sand bed infauna. Southdown and other Oolithic sand is very smooth.

 

[Dumb Guy]

Whoa. According to the "everything you wanted to know about southdown" thread linked to above, this stuff is mined by a company in Ft. Pierce, FL. That's 20 minutes from where I live. And I thought I'd never get this stuff. If I can get it in bulk, I'll sell it at cost plus shipping if anybody is interested (since it sounds like I'll have a LOT left over). I'm going to look into it this weekend. I'll keep everybody posted. Weird how people in this hobby treat this SD stuff like it's gold.

 

[jamesw]

FWIW, the Berlin Method is an old reefkeeping method that doesn't use a sandbed. Things have changed a lot over the past 5 years, and most people are using a sandbed now.

Cheers
James

 

[reefNewbie]

How important is it to use SD sand? Ive heard from a few people that its stupid to have such a craze for this sand when regular silca sand works just fine. Is this true? If it is, then what do i have to look for when buying sand to use? thanks

 

[Anonymous]

I got my sand from here. http://www.purearagonite.com/

Five 40lb bags was perfect for my 75gal. Gave me a good 5-6" sand bed.

 

[reefNewbie]

thanks, but what i meant was sand from garden type places where it costs 3-4 dollars a 50# bag

 

[Anonymous]

I am looking for the article, but somewhere it said that it is bad to use Silica based sand for a reef.
_________________
How I Met Your Mother Forum

 

[danmhippo]

Reefnewbie, Depends on where you live. If your local Hardware stores carries Southdown for 4-5 bucks, you are in luck. However many of us aren't so lucky to have local HD carry Southdown, and instead have to get them haulled in by pallets. With the shipping costs added onto it, Each bag will go from the original $4 to about $12. With that in mind, Purearagonite.com aren't such a bad idea as their price already includes freight charge (correct me if I remembered wrong.)