weedabix 0 Posted June 5, 2020 Report Share Posted June 5, 2020 Hi, I bought some sand to mix into media, especially to use for mexican pinguicula but potentially also for other substrates. Does anyone have experiences with this sand in particular, are there any potential issues you would expect from using it and are there any other tips a newbie like myself should be aware of? I was planning to wash it and use the white sand in the medium and the coloured sand as topping to keep moss at bay. I want to make a shallow bowl with some different pings in there... Thank you in advance for your advice, weedabix Quote Link to post Share on other sites
RobH 37 Posted June 5, 2020 Report Share Posted June 5, 2020 The bags do say suitable for aquarium so it should be good for CPs. Make sure it is silica sand and I should certainly wash it and finish with a rainwater wash before using to be safe. If you have a TDS meter then suggest checking after you have done your final wash. Total Dissolved Solids should be between 10 and 20 ppm after giving it a good wash. TDS meters can be bought cheaply on Amazon if you do not have one (£10 - £15). Rob 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
weedabix 0 Posted June 5, 2020 Author Report Share Posted June 5, 2020 Awesome! Thanks for the detailed answer Rob! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
picol 26 Posted June 6, 2020 Report Share Posted June 6, 2020 Hi, i use the quartz sand of this brand (the one on the left) with darlingtonia seedling (mixed with pumice and a little bit of peat), P. macriceras (mixed with lapil) and with D. linearis (pure) without any issue. I saw the other bag at the pet shop and it looks gravel to me, so it might have a higher pH level but usually for pinguicula this is not a problem Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Dunc 70 Posted June 6, 2020 Report Share Posted June 6, 2020 Hi, I use the white stuff too and had no problems. Don't bother to wash it either as it's fairly clean out of the bag. Quite a nice even grit size too. Get mine off Amazon. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
weedabix 0 Posted June 6, 2020 Author Report Share Posted June 6, 2020 Cheers Dunc! That's good to hear - I didn't imagine how difficult it was to find the right sand! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Dunc 70 Posted June 7, 2020 Report Share Posted June 7, 2020 19 hours ago, weedabix said: Cheers Dunc! That's good to hear - I didn't imagine how difficult it was to find the right sand! Used to use the garden centre 'lime free' RHS stuff but had some quite dusty stuff that took forever to wash. This one's not cheap but convenient to get it delivered. Had two more bags this week. When times are more normal I'll check out a few of the local aquarium shops. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
kieran1203 0 Posted July 8, 2020 Report Share Posted July 8, 2020 @weedabix @Dunc is it possible to know what grain size the sand is? Thanks Quote Link to post Share on other sites
weedabix 0 Posted July 8, 2020 Author Report Share Posted July 8, 2020 7 hours ago, kieran1203 said: @weedabix is it possible to know what grain size the sand is? Thanks The Amtra sand I bought has a grain size of about 1-2 mm. It's on amazon as "Wave Fine Quartz Substrate, 5 kg, White" they also have a medium but it turns out that's exactly the same! It seems to do well for the pings and other plants! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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