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Play sand

i brought a 50 pound bag of play sand a while ago but i have used it yet because i did'nt know if it was safe to use because from a few reports they said that it could be alkaline , too bad i can't find silica sand localy here . anyways , the sand is from the quikrete company . the sand looks whitishish grey . on the see through back it says " 50 pounds of pure fun " and " kiddies fun play sand " in red and green letters with a drawing of a kid playing in a sand box . it also says " ideal for building and molding " " screened , washed , dried . so if anybody is uiseing this sand with there cps safely then please tell me .
 
Yes, it is safe. Just make sure you wash it thouroughly before using it. Hope this helps.

Wes
 
Speaking of washing sand, do you wash it with pure water? I have been washing mine with plain tap water and then rinsing it several times with distilled. As dirty as it is, it would take a LOT of distilled water to wash it like that. Does anyone else do this? What have your results been like?

Thanks
Steve
 
I'd say you can wash it with just plain tap water.  I don't see why it'd hurt it.
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Wes
 
^ there's the ever-present fear that the minerals from the tap water will remain in the sand to harm our precious little plants.
 
I've had problems with playsand. Too many trace minerals. I've switched to filter sand which is mostly silica and my plants are much happier.

My two cents.
 
There is sand and then there is sand. Different localities market different sand. "Play Sand" can be anything, so I would be suspicious. Silica sand is white sand, but even this identifier is not reliable. There is calcerous white sand that would not be good for your plants. However, it is not as common as silica sand, so if your sand is white, it is looking good. Take 1/4 tsp of the sand and put it in a clear container, and add some white vinegar and look closely to see if there is any fizz. No fizz? Its getting better and better!
Fizz? Forget it, it has dangerous minerals in it.

As to rinsing the sand, it is generally safe to do so with tap water, unless you live in Salt Lake City, or somewhere the water is notably hard with minerals. Rain water is what I use (VERY plentiful here this year&#33
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If you use tap or well water, a final rinse with distilled won't hurt, but may not be needed. I tend to be very obsessive about removal of as many dissolved solids as possible, but thats me.

The best places to find silica sand are swimming pool and general construction supply companies. Swimming pool filters use a coarse grade of silica sand (my personal favorite), and construction supply companies sell a finer grade sold as sandblasing sand.
 
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