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A little sand research at Home Depot

jimscott

Tropical Fish Enthusiast
I asked one of the expereinced people at the Pro Desk is he knew anything about the variety of sands being sold in building Materials. Apperently, he knows a great deal about the products.

All Purpose Sand: 50 lbs., washed, $2.87

Tube Sand: 60 lbs., washed, $2.98 (same as All Purpose)

Play Sand:50 lbs., washed, $3.27

Commercial Grade Sand (same as Sandblasting Sand): 50 lbs., $4.34

He didn't know what these sand were washed with, whether there were any chemicals or not. I have used the All Purpose Sand and so far, after rinsing, there hasn't been any problems. I think that one could do their complete soil media shopping at a Home Depot or a Lowes. Sphagnum peat moss can be purchased in bales and dried LFS in small bags.
 
Don't forget both sell orchid mix too....
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I think what matters is what the sand is. "Sand" is a term that describes grain size. Grains of what... that's a crap shoot.
 
sand blasting sand SHOULD be quartz sand i believe, as for the rest, as long as there isnt a ton of carbonate rock or metal salts you should be fine. both of these should be able to be tested for with some basic kits if your serious. im thinking of sacrificing some plants to a "local river sand" experiment this summer
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WHEN IN DOUBT, SACRIFICE PLANTS FOR THE GREATER GOOD OF THE COLLECTION(or your pocket book) THROUGH EXPERIMENTATION

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I've been using play sand and it seems to be doing the trick. You just have to wash it alot because it is awful dirty.

-Ben
 
The Commercial Grade sand would be great but our HDs/Lowes ony have playground sand.
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Joe, orchid Bark is too expensive! check out the fine shreded all natural cypress mulch (not the big chips). This stuff rocks and you get like 2 cubic feet for 1/2 the price of one small sack of orchid bark. I've been using the mulches both Cypress and ceadar in this years soil mixes that would normally get bark (which is everything but cacti) and it's working great! I would say though that the cypress is faster drying (more like true orchid bark) and the cedar retains more water but both make excellent fast draining mixes. Just be sure to get the all natural, uncolored stuff.

Too bad HD doesn't sell LFS!
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[b said:
Quote[/b] (swords @ June 07 2006,1:35)]Too bad HD doesn't sell LFS!
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Huh? I've been buying the dried LFS in bags right along. The live LFS can't be bought there, but the dried becomes alive, over time.
 
You all suck!
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Only kidding of couse! Our home depots don't sell LFS (the dried blonde stuff)
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Just to put more salt in my wounds, how much are you paying?
 
  • #10
Bummerooski! It was $4 a bag. I'm sure a Lowes will have it. If not, perhaps a Walmart or some other nursery.

Hey, here's a sponatneous idea.... I can buy a bag for you and trade for plants!
 
  • #11
Man! That's a great price. There's a new Lowes open (the first here) so I'll see what they have. I buy my LFS at my aunts Bachmann's Floral shop in richfield but it's $20 for the 18" x 18" bale size (marked like 2 cu. feet when expanded) and even higher at the orchid shops.
Anyway, PM me if there's something I've got you want to trade plants for & we'll try and work something out!
 
  • #12
Josh,
 Yeah, I know. It is even more expensive for orchid bark here(NE) than in MN, and I have thought about buying something like that. I just don't have propagation room to make experimental material, lol. I know Dave Evans is big on cypress mulch and so is Trent Meeks.
Incidentally, our Home Depot has never had lfs either. We have a garden center that always has Wisconsin lfs. Some other nurseries carry Chilean or NZ. D'Amato claims he has noticed no difference, but we all know we love the premium stuff.

 
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  • #13
Ive been using home depot leveling sand without any problems, dont even rinse it, plants seem to like it.
 
  • #14
none of the home depots i've ever been to sell the live stuff. my little plant is doing okay though. with lots of help from jimscott and others here on this forum.
 
  • #15
[b said:
Quote[/b] (rattler_mt @ June 06 2006,10:20)]sand blasting sand SHOULD be quartz sand i believe, as for the rest, as long as there isnt a ton of carbonate rock or metal salts you should be fine. both of these should be able to be tested for with some basic kits if your serious. im thinking of sacrificing some plants to a "local river sand" experiment this summer
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This should typically be true. However, since sand is heavy and typically sold for a song, it usually is sourced locally. If the local area is devoid of clean quartz sand, you will get something else....

- hearing testimonials from people in other areas of the country that used such & such sand has very little bearing on your location.

A good quick test for carbonate rocks (limestone, dolomite, etc) is to take a sample and place it in a glass of vinegar. Carbonate particles will stream bubbles...

Using a sand with materials toxic to CPs may not be apparent for some time. The sphagnum peat tends to buffer some of the problems for a while. The plants can handle some of these impurities for a time and when they do start to show symptoms, you probably will not realize it's your media mix until too late (or never).
- - take a quick look at any of the sundew / VFT / pitcher plant forums at any given time and notice how many assorted 'cries for help' there are. How many of these might be from poor media - we'll never know...

Monitoring / testing the materials you use for a media for your babies is a task best done upfront.... then it's not an issue you have to worry about later...
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  • #16
[b said:
Quote[/b] (MDPotter @ June 09 2006,10:31)]Ive been using home depot leveling sand without any problems, dont even rinse it, plants seem to like it.
I saw levelling sand and it just didn't look right. I'll ask about its contents tomorrow.
 
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