Home and Auto Need a chemist or science person's help on a projecct

BucEyedPea · 07-02-2014, 06:22 PM

Okay, this seems gay for a male dominated sports forum but I know there's science people here. So what the hell!

My daughter has a roomate, who is still a student, getting married this August. She loved my seashell tall cylinder vases and asked if I would design her wedding centerpieces like that. She's having a beach-themed wedding.

I can can come up with an idea, sketch it out well and quickly enough...but what if it won't work in the real world? That's where I am having a problem. I don't normally do this kind of project but she's low on funds. So I thought I'd help her out. I am off work for June and most of July.

She wants her sea shells under water, with those floating candles on top. It's a great idea and I've seen them. However, I have taken three of my glass bowls and tested nice white beach sand from my beach here and two kinds of decor sand from the craft store which is made from crushed rocks--one like coast sand with specks in it and the other deeper.

You see these things all over the net BUT the water is clear-- mine is cloudy though.

Now the cloudiness settles and it looks better after a day...but it's still not clear enough to look good. I just did a second rinse to see, after watching a You Tube video on cleaning aquarium sand so that wouldn't look cloudy.

I have researched some aquarium sand/items and but haven't completed it. So is there anything about any other substrate or type of water where it will remain clear? Anything about the chemistry of the water that would help? We have hard water here but I have a water softener which also cleans it too. It's just not reverse osmosis though.
I have some distilled water too.

Funny thing is the beach sand I used remains the clearest. I have some pictures below to show you what I am trying to do. If someone else has done it, then it can be done. There just has to be some missing technology that I don't know to pull it off. S

Some of the pages for these photos make it sound so easy....just fill with water. Voilà! It's done!

Here's samples of what I am doing. Only I am using a 12 inch bubble vase which is round like a half of balloon.

This one doesn't have sand at the bottom. I guess I could skip the sand altogether but it doesn't look as nice and the girl liked the sand.

07-02-2014, 06:22 PM	Topic Starter
BucEyedPea Gimme My Berries Back! Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: None of your business Casino cash: $2919963	Need a chemist or science person's help on a projecct Okay, this seems gay for a male dominated sports forum but I know there's science people here. So what the hell! My daughter has a roomate, who is still a student, getting married this August. She loved my seashell tall cylinder vases and asked if I would design her wedding centerpieces like that. She's having a beach-themed wedding. I can can come up with an idea, sketch it out well and quickly enough...but what if it won't work in the real world? That's where I am having a problem. I don't normally do this kind of project but she's low on funds. So I thought I'd help her out. I am off work for June and most of July. She wants her sea shells under water, with those floating candles on top. It's a great idea and I've seen them. However, I have taken three of my glass bowls and tested nice white beach sand from my beach here and two kinds of decor sand from the craft store which is made from crushed rocks--one like coast sand with specks in it and the other deeper. You see these things all over the net BUT the water is clear-- mine is cloudy though. Now the cloudiness settles and it looks better after a day...but it's still not clear enough to look good. I just did a second rinse to see, after watching a You Tube video on cleaning aquarium sand so that wouldn't look cloudy. I have researched some aquarium sand/items and but haven't completed it. So is there anything about any other substrate or type of water where it will remain clear? Anything about the chemistry of the water that would help? We have hard water here but I have a water softener which also cleans it too. It's just not reverse osmosis though. I have some distilled water too. Funny thing is the beach sand I used remains the clearest. I have some pictures below to show you what I am trying to do. If someone else has done it, then it can be done. There just has to be some missing technology that I don't know to pull it off. S Some of the pages for these photos make it sound so easy....just fill with water. Voilà! It's done! Here's samples of what I am doing. Only I am using a 12 inch bubble vase which is round like a half of balloon. This one doesn't have sand at the bottom. I guess I could skip the sand altogether but it doesn't look as nice and the girl liked the sand.
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