[APD] Re: Substrate iron

["George Booth" <gbooth at frii_com>]

Steve wrote:

>To tell you the truth, I'm not sure how much iron
>the laterite provides long term. (George is going
>to tweak my toes for that comment).

I don't know for sure but it probably provides less iron than garden soil,
 which if I remember right, will provide about 10,000 years worth of iron.

My theory is that the laterite will provide some (or a lot of) iron in
solution
when a tank is initially set up. Longer term, the laterite will "chelate",
or
more properly, bind nutrient ions such as Fe++ so plant roots can adsorb
them.
Assuming, of course, you have provided some way to add nutrients like iron
to
the water and have provided some way for the ions to reach the laterite
layer
 in the substrate.

Which is another topic altogether, isn't it?

George Booth in Ft. Collins, CO (gbooth at frii dot com)
 The website for Aquatic Gardeners by Aquatic Gardeners
   http://aquaticconcepts.thekrib.com/  (mirror)
   http://www.frii.com/~gbooth/AquaticConcepts/

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