Used For
Abrasion: Before sandpaper, wet sand was used as an abrasive element between rotating devices with elastic surface and hard materials such as very hard stone (making of stone vases), or metal (removal of old stain before re-staining copper cooking pots), Agriculture: Sandy soils are ideal for crops such as watermelons, peaches, and peanuts, and their excellent drainage characteristics make them suitable for intensive dairy farming., Air filtration: Finer sand particles mixed with cloth was commonly used in certain gas mask filter designs but have largely been replaced by microfibers., Aquaria: Sand makes a low-cost aquarium base material which some believe is better than gravel for home use. It is also a necessity for saltwater reef tanks, which emulate environments composed largely of aragonite sand broken down from coral and shellfish., Beach nourishment: Governments move sand to beaches where tides, storms, or deliberate changes to the shoreline erode the original sand.[