"unclenorm" <normnam2000@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:1128430082.202318.28600@g47g2000cwa.googlegro ups.com...
Hi Thomas,
A fact I think you should know, irrespective what other
people may tell you, Calcium Carbonate sand, Southdown Tropical Play
sand, Aragonite sand, and Oolite are all the same they are all Calcium
Carbonate sands, they will not cause precipitation or PH shifts etc.
The rate they will dissolve naturally is very very small, they need a
calcium reactor running a CO2 system to dissolve.
Finally they are the preferred substrate for any marine tank.
regards,
unclenorm.
I am returning to the hobby. In the past, it was a 3" deep sugar sized
silica sand that pushed nitrides down to the vanishing point. It was silica
sand because the other flavors were just plain unavailable. This may still
be the case here in Nashville, TN. I'm wondering how much $ and effort I
should expend in order to find the still elusive "Southdown Tropical Play
Sand". With so much money needed to support the hobby, is it really worthy
blowing hundreds of $ on the sand bed when clean silica sand is still cheap
and available.

Thomas Bartkus