Thanks Doc. It's interesting though. It's been about 6 weeks since I got my Taylor test kit and was able to get my water balance in some kind of control. I also assumed PH was an important factor, and based on the advice I got here, I immediately raised it, and have maintained it, in the appropriate range since I got my test kit. But I still had "sand" in similar amounts compared to before I sought your advice. I finally found a source for CaCl, since it's pretty rare in Florida, (Fastenal) only two weeks ago. Once I had it, I raised CH from 180 to 250 over a three day period. Since then, it seems that the amount of "sand" has lessened. Of course this is a perception, since I have not measured the amount in any way. The smoothness of the sides also improved since raising CH (again a perception). Maybe this is just the result of having the PH in the proper range for that 6 weeks rather than the result of having the CH raised for 2 weeks. Or maybe a combination of both?

I don't think either CH or TA ever got anywhere near zero, or even less than 80 at any time. My fill water has a TA of 180 and CH of 110.