Silica sand - salt free suppliers??

Hi, where's a good place to buy silica sand online?
I found lots of shopping results, but they're all aquarium and sandblasting suppliers and I don't know if salt and other impurities are mixed in with it.

Cheers

 

I have seen washed limefree horticultural grade silica sand, so it does exist, cant remeber where Im afraid, any reason why sharp or sliver sand wont do ?

 

Whats it for Cumbert?

I am not really sure what 'silica sand' means. All sand is mainly comprised of silicon dioxide - so I would regard all sand as silica sand.

 

Do you know what grade it is you need? If it's for a pond or a pool filter, have you tried a large pool store? Where are you located? If you are anywhere around NW Kent, there is a great supplier close by. I picked up 4 25KG bags last year at about £8 per bag to replace the sand in the pool filter. It took me ages to find them - as all I could find online was places to order over the net, at about £30 per bag plus delivery.

 

It's for various Aloe seeds I have. The packets say any sand will do, but silica sand is ideal. I'm in the northwest, and all my local garden centres aren't that great, and have had to order things like vermaculite online.

Silver sand is purified silica sand from what gathered online, but it's the same deal - can't find horticultural grade stuff, unless it's all fine, and i'm just being overly concerned?

 

I wouldn't like to buy any form of sand on the internet - the carriage must be horrendous. You could try garden centres and builders merchants for silver sand.

I don't know about Aloes, but I grow all my seeds and seedlings in a mixture of compost and 30% to 50% sharp sand. I get sharp sand from builders merchants, and have never had any problems with it. I don't see why it should contain any salt, but you can always wash it. Sand is not absorbant so it can't hold onto any salt. Sharp sand shouldn't be confused with sand from the sea side, which would be salty. Thats soft sand - ie well rounded particles, though I doubt that anyone is allowed to extract sand from beaches.

I suspect the main reason for the packet saying use sand is for the drainage. Consequently I would have thought the particle size and sharpness were the most important factors.

If you are worried about lime, you could always test the pH. I have a cheap pH meter, but you can also buy papers. Test your tap water by itself, then test again with sand added to the water. If your test doesn't show any difference, I don't think your plants will either.

 

Ah, ok. Cheers for the info. Theres a few building suppliers near me, so I'll take a look.

Tap water where I live is horrendously bad, and I grow carnivours so I'm in the habit of collecting rain water

 

I'm not a brickie, but I was once shown "silica sand" by a bricklayer and it was pretty fine stuff.
Not what I would consider suitable for mixing in a compost.

Surely for Aloe seed sowing you really need sharp sand or fine grit.
I've always used sharp sand from builders merchants, and as Peter says, I've never noticed any ill effects, either.
When it comes to carnivorous plants I usually add some sand to sphagnum moss peat and its never caused a problem.

 

...yeah think you are being poverly concerned (about the grade or type, your are right to be concerned about lime) All its ofr us to open the compost so it drains well, finish alpine grit would do...I suggest this because most garden centers sell this and often in smaller bags.