southdown

[kgb]

has any one been able to find the real southdown play sand any were
i was at the marbourough one and they had nebver heard of it

[Josh23]

As far as I know it is not available in Canada although I could be wrong.

[Delphinus]

Yeah, not only is it not available in Canada, it's hardly available in the U.S. except for only a few select states in the east. For example, we couldn't just go for a drive down to Montana and get some, nor can the guys in Vancouver hop over the border and pick up some in Washington, because it's not there either! Not even in California.

So there you have it: Southdown is only economical if you are able to go your local HD and buy some. If we were to order Southdown sand (I am sure someone would sell us some if we looked hard enough), the problem will be by the time it's shipped over here (and we'd probably have to order a minimum of a pallet's worth), the shipping costs will absolutely kill us, and we won't have saved any money over having just gone to Big Al's and buying the Caribsea sand for $50-60 per 30lb. bag.

Here are my suggestions for economical white sand:

- white silica sand
- sandblasting sand
- shot pein (sp?)

Ross and Kim have gone this route in their tanks and perhaps they can elaborate on the costs and advantages/disadvatages and where you can get it and all that.

If calcium sand is the only way to go, then SWC sells the sand that is "just like" Caribsea but at half the cost. If you only need a bag or two and are willing to go a bit out of your way, there is a guy up in Edmonton who had ordered a pallet (just like I did, but I ran out of sand earlier this fall). He might have some left. I forget who it is, but you can get the contact info from Jayson, or from Dez, or perhaps do a search in the "Edmonton Reef Club" forum on sand, I'm sure his name will turn up..

If there is enough interest, I could maybe be talked into hosting another pallet of sand again for Calgary, but this time I won't do it unless there is sufficient interest to basically pre-sell at least half the pallet right away. It took me six months to sell off the sand that I had, and I have very limited storage capabilities so I don't want that to happen again where I'm stuck with 50 bags in my shed for six months...

If we could do it this way then the bags would be had for $25 per bag, which is a pretty good deal considering the Caribsea alternative is twice that.

[Bob I]

Don't even bother looking in Canada. Southdown is available only in the eastern States.

[spikehs]

well, i could be persuaded to buy a bag or 2....

[Josh23]

I would buy 2 or 3 bags as well if it were to come in.

[kgb]

hey thanks guys for all the info
ok thats sweet i would be in for 2 or 3 bag of sand

also del i was reading in the reefcentral forums that silica isn't to great as it cutes up critters in the sand (that is it is pretty sharp stuff). also i heard some bad stuff against sandblasting sand but i cant remeber what it was.

[Bob I]

As I have said a number of times. If you want Silica Sand that is NOT sharp, go and buy "pool filter sand". it is screened, and smooth, and all one size. It cost 15 bucks for 25KGS. Put it on the bottom, and top with Aragonite, and away you go. I have done it, and it works fine. :D :D

[reefburnaby]

Hi,

The other alternative is Domolite - the stuff you put on lawns. I must admit that it is a bit strange to put stuff on your lawns in your reef, but this is something reefers did back in the early 90s and late 80s. Its popularity has drop since calcium based sand came out. I have been using it for a while (a year and bit now) and I haven't had any problems with it. There is a thread discussion on Domolite (and other processed materials that weren't meant for reefs) on Canreef.

If you have the cash, then I would get the legit stuff (say, stuff from SWC or Caribsea). The higher price buys you piece of mind.

The other alternative is to go sandless -- not all succesful tanks have DSBs. Nitrate reduction can be done without DSBs.

- Victor.

[rossb]

Just yesterday I was reading a thread .. everything you need to know about southdown sand...
you can check it out here http://reefcentral.com/vbulletin/forumdisplay.php?s=&forumid=104

[Quinn]

my dad works at HD in red deer, he says the minimum order would be a truck full of sand, but if enough people are interested, we may be able to influence his store to bring in some. you'd have to drive to red deer to get it, or i could probably bring it to you, but it might be worthwhile.

[rossb]

I am frequently in Red Deer and the trip would be worth it. Do you know how many bags a truckload would be and for how much they would sell it? I would most certainly be in for a bunch of bags!

[Canadian Man]

If the bags are cheep I would want some as well.
Any idea on what they would cost???

[Delphinus]

1. How much would a truckfull be? I'm rather afraid of that. One single pallet is already a lot of sand, if we're talking about 2-3 pallets .... uhoh. :shock:

2. What would the cost per bag be? We need to look at this one. Cost of shipping is not going to be trivial .... unless HD somehow swallows the cost of shipping and lets us have one incredible deal ... ?

3. Failing this, I think we should still look at the SWC pallet. We should support our Canuck retailers, it is very nice sand, and cheap. I'd consider doing the pallet thing again, but I would feel a whole lot better about it if there is for certainty a minimum amount of interest .... it's not fun to move immediately say, 10 bags, and then sit on the remaining 50 bags as they slowly get bought up. This is a minimum $1000 investment we're talking about here..

[Quinn]

my dad doesn't think it's possible but will look into it. i also told him to try to find out where their standard Target sand comes from and what is in it. Someone on Reef Central said you can place an order directly from the company in Florida that bags the stuff, as long as you don't mention aquariums to them, we could almost order it ourselves and sell it to LFSs across Canada. you can ship stuff like that via freight companies for very good rates (versus air or courier). i'll keep you all posted, as i'm almost ready to go get sand out of Sylvan Lake.

[Bob I]

As a matter of interest I would say a truckload is probably five tons. I don't know what that would be in Tonnes, but probably a hell of a lot. :D :D

[StirCrazy]

As a matter of interest I would say a truckload is probably five tons. I don't know what that would be in Tonnes, but probably a hell of a lot. :D :D

1 ton (us/short) = 0.907185 ton (metric) = 0.892857 ton (UK/long) ***spelt the same :wink: ***


Steve

[EmilyB]

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