I have a qeustion about lighting and soil.

[B_Aller]

op- Don't bother buying dirt in bags at lowes, waste of time and money, go to a landscaping material yard ask for sifted dirt and washed play sand mixed or buy a 1/4 yard of each and mix yourself. Buying dirt in bags is not the way to go.
You will spend way less and get way more at a landscape yard.
I use fly ash in my concrete sculptures to achieve a certain detailed look and increase strength, don't think it would be worth it to add to dirt though as it is basically dust.
Here's some detail I get with fly ash

[batmanjosh5000]

Originally Posted by B_Aller

op- Don't bother buying dirt in bags at lowes, waste of time and money, go to a landscaping material yard ask for sifted dirt and washed play sand mixed or buy a 1/4 yard of each and mix yourself. Buying dirt in bags is not the way to go.
You will spend way less and get way more at a landscape yard.
I use fly ash in my concrete sculptures to achieve a certain detailed look and increase strength, don't think it would be worth it to add to dirt though as it is basically dust.
Here's some detail I get with fly ash

Actually getting it from a landscaping material yard is a MUCH better idea! i just saw the price difference and the soil at lowes is very over priced. So i think i'll get it from a landscaping yard. But on a website i found they have different types of soil and sand. Which ones should i get?

SOILS
1.Topsoil (screened)
2.Compost
3.Topsoil\Compost Mix

SANDS
1.Mason / Pool Sand
2.Concrete Sand (i have a feeling i shouldn't be getting concrete sand)


and how much of each do you think i would need?

[B_Aller]

Originally Posted by batmanjosh5000

Actually getting it from a landscaping material yard is a MUCH better idea! i just saw the price difference and the soil at lowes is very over priced. So i think i'll get it from a landscaping yard. But on a website i found they have different types of soil and sand. Which ones should i get?

SOILS
1.Topsoil (screened)
2.Compost
3.Topsoil\Compost Mix

SANDS
1.Mason / Pool Sand
2.Concrete Sand (i have a feeling i shouldn't be getting concrete sand)


and how much of each do you think i would need?

Cool! Glad you found a material yard close by, I always try and steer people away from bagged dirt.
Like Wayne said, get the screened topsoil.
If you can get beach sand go for it, free is nice plus the whole idea with the sand is to have many different sized grains, this helps with keeping it diggable but still able to hold a burrow, that's why I recommend play sand because it's just the one most likely to have multiple sized grains. Beach sand by nature will have lots of different sizes. Concrete sand is fine, it's just sand that has been sorted by grain size, when using concrete sand you want to use different grits or mix play sand with concrete sand....probably TMI just spent years messing with it, now I have a huge natural source for amazing dirt, I let nature do all the mixing and sorting
Best.

[batmanjosh5000]

Originally Posted by B_Aller

Cool! Glad you found a material yard close by, I always try and steer people away from bagged dirt.
Like Wayne said, get the screened topsoil.
If you can get beach sand go for it, free is nice plus the whole idea with the sand is to have many different sized grains, this helps with keeping it diggable but still able to hold a burrow, that's why I recommend play sand because it's just the one most likely to have multiple sized grains. Beach sand by nature will have lots of different sizes. Concrete sand is fine, it's just sand that has been sorted by grain size, when using concrete sand you want to use different grits or mix play sand with concrete sand....probably TMI just spent years messing with it, now I have a huge natural source for amazing dirt, I let nature do all the mixing and sorting
Best.

That's awesome! i hope it's not illegal to take from the beach... but i geuss ill find out if someone stops me.
But would it be harmful to the monitor if there was like a piece of glass in the sand? I dont think there would be a lot of glass but im sure sometimes people smash glass near sand, or litter their bottle caps in the sand. I could also try to sift that stuff out somehow.