[Ninong]

Originally Posted by Reefland

Yes. One time when we got it is was in the traditional Southdown bags, another time it was in the Yardright bags. The Southdown had 54 bags per pallet, the Yardright was 72 bags per pallet.

Those came out of Easton, PA.

[Barry]

Justler

You can try Exotic Aquatics its in Baltmore, Md
http://www.exoticaquatics.com.

Barry

[Justler]

Originally Posted by Barry

Justler

You can try Exotic Aquatics its in Baltmore, Md
http://www.exoticaquatics.com.

Barry

I actually found southdown at our local home depot some time ago for my brother... Anyone know if there is a more coarse sand than south down that is safe for aquariums? I'm thinking of putting it in a tank w/ triggers & puffers.

[bens]

Anyone know where to get this in the Detriot area?

[brianhiggins98]

I have some for sale listed on ebay. But it's pickup only.

[Reefer769]

heres the ebay link your talking about:http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...category=46308

[ECH]

I live in MD. To answer the original question on this thread...Southern States (outdoor store) sells Yardright brand products and can get the sand you are looking for. I had to buy a pallet, but it suited my large need.
Here's my question. I know absolutely nothing about fish/marine/aquariums. I do have 1 pallet (70 bags, 3000 pounds) of Yardright, silica free sand, Tropical variety. My company uses it for making sport climbing holds. Before we use the sand we have to sift all the ocean debris and shells out. This 'debris' looks very usable for your tank uses. Can someone tell me with if this sifted leftover stuff is of any value to fish enthusiasts. I see many of you looking for this sand with little success...(most of the ocean debris is small, I enlarged the pic to see it better)
Thanks for any help,
Don

[Ninong]

Hi Don, welcome to Reefland!

The stuff you have pictured would be of no interest to anyone for a reef aquarium. Yardright and Southdown were two brands of CEMEX. The bags of interest to hobbyists would have had this exact wording:

Southdown Tropical Play Sand from the Caribbean

Yardright Tropical Play Sand from the Caribbean

The only difference was that the Southdown came in 50-lb bags and the Yardright came in 40-lb bags.

I understand that Southdown was taken over by Oldcastle and that the identical Southdown bags now read: Oldcastle Tropical Play Sand from the Caribbean

Those companies sell all sorts of sand products. The only sort of sand that we are interested in is aragonite sand (calcareous sand) that is mined by Marcona Ocean Industries in the Bahamas. This is the sand that is being sold as "Tropical Play Sand from the Caribbean" with either "Southdown," "Yardright," or "Oldcastle" as the prefix.

This is what Southdown Tropical Play Sand from the Caribbean looks like under 40x magnification: http://www.inlandreef.com/Images/BBP...uthdown40x.jpg

This is what regular quartz play sand looks like under 40x magnification: http://www.inlandreef.com/Images/BBP...ickrete40x.jpg

Aragonite sand is CaCO3 based and regular play sand is SiO2.

[ECH]

Wow...thankx for the quick reply! (and the info)

Actually, the sand I have does say Yardright Tropical Play Sand from the Caribbean on it, and its the bag I see pictured thoughout the marine sites. However, it has been screened. How much of the actual sand is left in the photo and the sample I have is questionable. The picture is what is left from the Tropical play sand when it is finely screened (and washed)...seems to be just neat looking shells and oceanic debris of sorts...I was just thinking it would look cool in the bottom of a tank, and since it originated from the aragonite family it would be safe in the tank?

Thanks a bunch!

Don
As a side note: I was originally buying the OldCastle product (Tropical stuff), it was already screened, almost no shells at all. Home Depot carried it and them suddenly dropped the line. I contacted OldCastle and they steered me in the Yardright direction, saying it was exactly the same stuff. However, they failed to mention it was not screened as well. I had an electric sifter built to sift all 3K pounds of the pallet...therefore I plan to have quite a bit of this oceanic debris left over. I paid 4.25 per 40 pound bag Of the YR sand, no shipping, not a bad deal...except for the loss of all the debis I cant use.

[Ninong]

If the stuff you have pictured came from a bag labelled "Yardright Tropical Play Sand from the Caribbean" then it's OK for a reef tank. It's hard to figure out from your picture, especially with the coloration and not knowing the magnification.

[Sueet]

That pic looks exactly like the finer grade of aragonite substrate material that I bought from my lfs when I first got into the hobby..... I know now that it isn't the best choice for a reef tank, but that's ok, since I have many tanks in the works, and lots of ideas for other uses for the stuff too

Anyway, I was just gonna say... Someone somewhere would probably jump at the chance to get it cheap, so toss it up on ebay and see what happens. I think for a fish-only setup it would be great too, especially if there are crabs or other bottom feeders in it.

[Rp Marine]

Can Your Help Me In Finding Sd Sand? I Live In South Texas. Would There Be Any Sd Sand In This Area?

[Ninong]

It is not carried by any stores in Texas. The only places you might find it are reef clubs and hobbyists. You need to check with other reefkeepers in your area to see if anyone has imported a pallet or two of the stuff and has any to spare. Usually it runs about $15/bag in Texas, when someone has any, which is about the same as they sell it for over here in Louisiana. I haven't seen any over here in more than a year.

[malawiMD]

I just looked at the yardright website ( www.yardright.com ) and this is what it says about thier tropical play sand. "Not suitable for aquarium systems and traction purposes." What does this mean? Should I pursue this sand or not?

Thanks

[Sueet]

Originally Posted by malawiMD

I just looked at the yardright website ( www.yardright.com ) and this is what it says about thier tropical play sand. "Not suitable for aquarium systems and traction purposes." What does this mean? Should I pursue this sand or not?

Thanks

The southdown bags say the same thing! However, I know alot of people are using it in their tanks, with NO problems. I think the company just wants us to pay more for the "premium" sands..... the southdown and yardright sands are great for aquariums... just rinse it before you use it, no prob!

[Ninong]

Originally Posted by malawiMD

I just looked at the yardright website ( www.yardright.com ) and this is what it says about thier tropical play sand. "Not suitable for aquarium systems and traction purposes." What does this mean? Should I pursue this sand or not?

Thanks

Pay no attention to that notice. That's something that was added within the past year for obvious reasons.

You will not be able to find this sand in Minnesota unless you find an individual hobbyist who is selling it.

[malawiMD]

That is too bad! I wonder why it is so hard to get?

[Sueet]

Originally Posted by malawiMD

That is too bad! I wonder why it is so hard to get?

Because they want you to buy the $30./bag stuff..... and prolly cuz some few hobbyists made claims or complaints somewhere along the line... so now everyone suffers.
I also think it's a cost thing for the local retailers. Like here, in Michigan, we have sand all around us (the great lakes) and it's ... pardon the pun... Dirt cheap, so why would anyone want to pay extra for white sand? I can get 50 lbs of regular brown silica sand for $1.89..... But I drove to Lansing (a 3 hour trip for me) to pay $6.99 ea. for 50lb bags of SD... ONLY us crazy reefers would do that tho

[Ninong]

Originally Posted by malawiMD

That is too bad! I wonder why it is so hard to get?

It is carried by Home Depots that are not too far away from the distribution point: Easton, Pennsylvania.

[Ninong]

Originally Posted by Sueet

and prolly cuz some few hobbyists made claims or complaints somewhere along the line... so now everyone suffers.

No, that's not an issue at all.