hey shadetree

[Troy F]

Hi Farmerjo. The Home Depot(Southdown) sand isn't available up here in the Great White North. Scott drove down to California to pick it up. It had been shipped there from northeastern US. It is aragonite but after all is said and done it isn't that much different than buying it up here at LFS prices.

If you were to do a search on www.reefs.org or www.reefcentral.com I think you may find some interesting observations on using silicate based sands. Most of the experts seem to feel that the buffering capacity of aragonite is negligible. More important is particle size. In other words; a sterilized silicate based sand in the right particle range would provide all you need for a good DSB. Dr Shimek and Dr Toonen both seem to agree that, after particle size, the right diversity of life is the most important aspect of a DSB.

It might be worth researching because if you have a tank the size of Scott's; you're going to need a lot of sand to get 4"-5".

HTH