Southdown Sand

[mojo215]

Has anyone seen the "Sand" topic under Advanced Topics?

Seems they now have a warning on their bag not for aquarium use.



:eek2:




Boy am I glad I got the real thing. At least I don't have to worry about what really is in my tank.:D

[Skipper]

Huh? I just read it twice and see no mention of that. Am I nuts? :D

[mojo215]

The post is in the Advanced section.
It starts out "Has anyone noticed the Southdown changed their


It's their, I just read it again.

[Skipper]

Ok, got it. Duh. :D I was looking at the other thread that was titled: 'Sand.'

Turns out I was nuts, eh? :lol:

[mojo215]

So what do you think?

I bought 5 bags of sand from Premiumcaribbeanaragonite and have the feeling it is really southdown.

[ajx22]

Originally posted by mojo215
So what do you think?

I bought 5 bags of sand from Premiumcaribbeanaragonite and have the feeling it is really southdown.

It's not. Call Jim @ Pure Caribbean Aragonite (his number is on the site) and he will give you a breakdown of what their sand goes through to ensure reef-grade purity.

Cheers,

[mojo215]

Thanx AJ

[SV650]

After reading alot of the South Down posts about how the sand is distributed I would suspect that they say "Not for aquarium use" because they are not allowed to sell sand for that purpose not necessarily because it isn't good for the tank.

There have been many posts about the companies involved and one about a year ago that described the distribution network for the Caribbean sand ... I'd recommend taking a look.

[drmofsea]

here is the adress and phone number for anyone who wants it
1386 Car Mia Way
Richmond, VA 23236
(804)897-9021
cherie

[ajx22]

Originally posted by SV650
After reading alot of the South Down posts about how the sand is distributed I would suspect that they say "Not for aquarium use" because they are not allowed to sell sand for that purpose not necessarily because it isn't good for the tank.

I don't think that this is quite true...

There is no "Industry Standard" that sand has to obtain to be "certified" as reef safe...so ANY company can sell sand for whatever purpose they choose. As long as you don't promote it as being "Aquarium Safe" - then no one could hold you (as a company) liable.

However, I appreciate that a company would take a stand stating that their's MAY not be suitable for certain applications.

Cheers,

[Acrotech]

I spent the better part of a day talking to Southdown, the mining company that actually mines the stuff, along with a few others.

Southdowns stand is that they bag the playsand in the same facility they bag other materials. They are in the concrete and additive business for the most part and said they can not guaranty that the playsand does not have other materials in it since they do not clean out their system between runs. The guy also said they have had a few lawsuits filled due to reef problems. I don't know if that's true or not, but that's what he said.

Why did I spent all this time? Well I own a company that has a large packaging and bagging plant. We also have rail car off loading facility and sell other products to the hardware chain stores...Home Depot, Ace, True Value etc...coast to coast.

I am looking at bringing in 900 tons (9 rail car loads) of the Oolitic Aragonite, mainly to sell as playsand, but also for reef use. The reef sand will have a dedicated area where it will run through a few different processes to assure its quality. From metal detection to additional screening to mention a few.

Time frame is still a bit open, but the sand should be at our plant in a few weeks. I will post more later, once a time frame is set.

[Guy]

Originally posted by Acrotech
I spent the better part of a day talking to Southdown, the mining company that actually mines the stuff, along with a few others.

Southdowns stand is that they bag the playsand in the same facility they bag other materials. They are in the concrete and additive business for the most part and said they can not guaranty that the playsand does not have other materials in it since they do not clean out their system between runs. The guy also said they have had a few lawsuits filled due to reef problems. I don't know if that's true or not, but that's what he said.



THANK YOU! for doing this research. It's greatly appreciated.

For the life of me I can't understand why they would sell a sand meant for children to play in and yet not be able to guarantee that there's nothing toxic in it??? ;) hmmmm

I HOPE there are no reef lawsuits against them. They NEVER claimed it was appropriate reef sand. I've used a lot of it and never had any trouble.

[mgk65]

The way I look at it, THOUSANDS of reefers have used Southdown Sand, including many people that I look up to on this board, without incident.

p.s. I also use Mrs. Wage's Pickling Lime.

p.p.s. Others have also used Arm&Hammer Baking Soda for buffer for years.

mgk