[Killietalk] green sand

["Mike Jacobs" <mjacobs2 at tampabay_rr.com>]

OK, folks . . . when is green sand not green sand?  I suspect I ought to 
explain.  I have been using green sand for several years with great results. 
I understand the argument about the green sand doing some damage to some of 
the eggs but quite frankly what is the difference between 60 eggs and 65 
eggs . . . and I sure wouldn't want 90-100 eggs if the sand is damaging that 
many eggs.  So . . . I am using green sand.  The green sand I have been 
using was some that Charlie Nunziata had gotten from one of his trips to the 
COLD NORTH land of New York!  I only say that because Charlie, I am pretty 
sure knows what green sand looks like.  It's not really "sand" . . . it 
evidently is some sort of "clay" I am told.  You can almost never get it 
really clean but yet you can get it clean enough not to bother the water or 
spawning.  Being this "clay" material makes you think that the more you 
clean it the more it will be "dirty" because you are rubbing clay on clay 
and it will always give off the "mud".

OK . . . we CAN'T find that green sand down here!  At least I have not been 
able to. We always have to rely on someone going up north and bringing some 
back.  Well, the other day a new SKS member down here proclaimed that he had 
found some green sand and he brought it buy to show me!  It's green sand . . 
. no, I mean it is really GREEN SAND . . . the sand used on the golf course 
to replace divots.

Now let me ask the question again . . . when is green sand, green sand and 
is real green sand OK to use?  Are there any chemicals in the golf course 
green sand . . . does anyone know for sure?

If you think about it the only reason the clay green sand works is that it 
is heavier than the eggs and separation is easy . . . well, if this colf 
course green sand is ok chemically then shouldn't it work also?  Remember, 
Rosario Lacorte always says to let the killies spawn in gravel and sand and 
then do figure 8's to collect the eggs after agitation.

Any thoughts?  My instinct is to stay with the clay green sand, it is a 
finer consistency but the golf real sand is well very close . . . it's sand!

Mike
                   Mike Jacobs
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