Glass instead of sharp sand?

[Johanovich]

My local garden center sells shredded glass partikels for use in ponds and aquaria.

The partikels are the same size and shape as normal sand partikels (0.5-1.5mm) but generally have less variation in size.
I thought (since glass is essentially sand) this might be used as an alternative instead of sharp sand.

Anybody has any experience with this?

 

[Lil Stinkpot]

I haven't had any experience, but, in my humble opinion, I think that it's a good idea worth a try.

 

[bluemax]

I use a product intended for pool filtration that is made of crushed, recycled glass and comes in several grit sizes in place of standard sand. It has worked well for me and arrives out of the bag as a much cleaner product than most sand so I don't have to be concerned with what else might be in with it. I figure that being chemically inert is what I want out of sand and this stuff is. I've been using it for over a year now.

 

[jlechtm]

Bluemax,

What is the pricing you're getting for the glass? I did a quick search and found an online source for $59.99 US per 50-lb bag. I'm paying just under $10 per 100-lb bag of coarse pure silica sand (almost no dust) locally (although it is a 45-minute drive into another state to get it).

Seems like an interesting idea, particularly (no pun intended) if one could get a wider variety of grit sizes, but the cost (at least to me) seems prohibitively expensive.

Jay

 

[bluemax]

Bluemax,

What is the pricing you're getting for the glass? I did a quick search and found an online source for $59.99 US per 50-lb bag. I'm paying just under $10 per 100-lb bag of coarse pure silica sand (almost no dust) locally (although it is a 45-minute drive into another state to get it).

Seems like an interesting idea, particularly (no pun intended) if one could get a wider variety of grit sizes, but the cost (at least to me) seems prohibitively expensive.

Jay

Jay -

I pay about $20 for a 50lb bag so your deal is much better. While I would prefer your price, especially if you can be comfortable that your sand is clean silica, I haven't seen any as good as yours locally.

 

[Johanovich]

So I went and bought a bag of this crushed glass (it is indeed labeled for using in poolfilters) and planted some of my drosera's, pings and flytraps in a mix with glass in it.
Hopefully it will work well for the plants.

In any case the soil now sparkles in a very pretty way when I put it outside in the sunlight

 

[Firerock]

I would check the ph of it first before it is used. Just to make sure. Most media additives have micro air holes to help with root development and to keep the media from compacting over time. Hope it works for ya.

Regards :grin:

 

[RL7836]

DJ57 has been using some of this for a while - looks very cool in her pics.

I believe this is one.

 

[Gigantea]

Best sand I can get is from Lowes- they sell little 5 pound bags of very coarse sand, but it's like $4.99/bag. Looking for better sources.

 

[Plant Planter]

Well, glass is made from melted silica sand, so it shouldn't be that much of a difference. I would wash it (duh) and test its pH.

 

[Johanovich]

I would check the ph of it first before it is used. Just to make sure. Most media additives have micro air holes to help with root development and to keep the media from compacting over time. Hope it works for ya.

Regards :grin:

Tested the Ph and is was slightly acidic, but only due to the used water being rainwater.
Seems like the glass is clean

 

[richjam1986]

Glass is no more or less than silica sand that has been melted and re-solidified into one smooth piece (basically). Silica sand is the kind you want to use with CP's anyway, so I don't see any reason crushed glass wouldn't work well. Silica is chemically inert and shouldn't alter the soil chemistry at all.

 

[Johanovich]

So far all of my sundews and venus flytraps are loving it. I'm trying it for my pinguicula and a few other species as well.

Conclusion: glass works