daveverdo
New member
Hi Everyone,
There is always alot of discussion in this and other forums here at RC regarding sand for use in tanks. I have often said that I like the look of the Tropical Playsand from Home Depot (also available in spring and summer at Walmart). As a geologist I did some basic tests and believed the playsand from the western and central NY stores to be Calcium Carbonate.
Well, I just wanted to check myself so I contacted Pavestone, the company that has a contract to supply HD and Wlamart with some of their playsand.
I recieved information from Dave Berard, Retail Sales District Manager at the Boston office (the office that supplies New York). Mr Berard emailed me the MSDS sheet for the playsand and said it was quarried in western Massechusetts (Adams, MA). The MSDS sheet list the manufacturer as Specialty Minerals and that the product is Ground Calcium Carbonate (GCC). Review of Specialty Chamicals website indicates they produce a variety of Calcium Cabonate products including "food grade" for use in chewing gum
. They do make the GCC in a variety of sizes from gravel to 2mm (beach sand size) to 5 microns.
Besides size they produce a variety of brightnesses and textures.
Additional review of information says that the sand contains 0.1-1% silica.
I am considering contacting them to see if they are willing to send me some "free" samples to look at in detail.
Bottom line: it is calcium carbonate!!
Dave
This page has a list of different GCC products.
If you want to look over the descriptions and let me know which ones look promising let me know and I will request some samples.
There is always alot of discussion in this and other forums here at RC regarding sand for use in tanks. I have often said that I like the look of the Tropical Playsand from Home Depot (also available in spring and summer at Walmart). As a geologist I did some basic tests and believed the playsand from the western and central NY stores to be Calcium Carbonate.
Well, I just wanted to check myself so I contacted Pavestone, the company that has a contract to supply HD and Wlamart with some of their playsand.
I recieved information from Dave Berard, Retail Sales District Manager at the Boston office (the office that supplies New York). Mr Berard emailed me the MSDS sheet for the playsand and said it was quarried in western Massechusetts (Adams, MA). The MSDS sheet list the manufacturer as Specialty Minerals and that the product is Ground Calcium Carbonate (GCC). Review of Specialty Chamicals website indicates they produce a variety of Calcium Cabonate products including "food grade" for use in chewing gum
. They do make the GCC in a variety of sizes from gravel to 2mm (beach sand size) to 5 microns.Besides size they produce a variety of brightnesses and textures.
Additional review of information says that the sand contains 0.1-1% silica.
I am considering contacting them to see if they are willing to send me some "free" samples to look at in detail.
Bottom line: it is calcium carbonate!!
Dave
This page has a list of different GCC products.
If you want to look over the descriptions and let me know which ones look promising let me know and I will request some samples.
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