Reply #2: What type of plant is it? [View All]

And where are you putting the sand?

Colored sand - or small river pebbles (what I usually use with potted plants when I'm doing a psuedo-bonsai for inside) on top of the soil shouldn't hurt any plant; in fact, it should cut down on the amount of watering/misting you will need to do, as it will cut down on evaporation and retain moisture in the soil.
If you've got the plant in a glass container and are layering sand and soil for a color effect (I've seen that before, pretty - but you need to have something like an air plant or other shallow-root structured plant for it to be healty and effective), that might be a bit tricky if especially if the plant likes it's soil boggy or doesn't like a lot of quick drainage.

Haele