A good Replacement for SouthDown

I've been out of the hobby for a few years and actually still have a couple of bags of southdown I had put to the side in case I ever wanted to step back in and start another tank. Well the time has come and I was down at parents house today and realized that he had put my bags of sand outside in the weather. they are still unopened but I feel like probably will just go a different route and just find some reef sand to buy somewhere since I know they no longer sell this. Also if going to purchase am considering using black sand to make livestock stand out a little bit more anyone have any opinons on this.

Thanks

 

if they were sealed I really dont see why they would be bad? espically since you have to rinse it anyways.

 

Reefcleaners sand!

 

My understanding was southdown and all of the other aragonite sands available at lowes, HD etc.. came from a company called Marcona Ocean Industries. Unfortunately, they no longer collect agaronite sand and no other supplier has broken into that sector, so we seem to be stuck with the overpriced hobby companies... There are a number of sand companies, Seachem has good sand and seems to be a bit quite a bit better priced than carib-sea, if you need aragonite. People seem to like reefcleaners sand, but I don't know much about it and haven't had a chance to try them yet.

If you don't mind silica, there are a lot more options. Silica sand may leach a little silica at first, but the free silica will be used up quick. It really isn't an issue for the reasons described here:
Feature Article: Silica In Reef Aquariums — Advanced Aquarist's Online Magazine

However, it may have sharper edges which can be a problem for some sand-sifters, and it may not be as white as aragonite

 

Thanks guys trying to get this all worked out during the planning stages instead of having to fix something once I'm up and running.