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Re: Clay as bacterial substrate
>------------------------------
>
>Date: Sat, 2 May 1998 16:34:46 -0700
>From: schmidt at coyote_csusm.edu (Michael Schmidt)
>Subject: Clay as bacterial substrate?
>
>In all the discussions I have seen about clays and laterites, the CEC is
>presumed to be the only relevant effect.
Not always! :-)
What about clay particles being a
>substrate for bacteria? Could this also affect nutrient processing within
>the aquarium?
.... but maybe we do need them, or other substrate-anchored bacteria,
>for processing of other nutrients.
YES, Indeed... they ARE needed to recycle nutrients among other things.
Additional surface area provided by clay (and laterite) should provide more
sites for these anaerobic bacteria to live.
[BTW... in my CEC post, I incorrectly said.... I believe that the major
advantages for laterite .... is to be an
INITIAL source of iron (and possibly Mg)..]
^^
I meant Manganese (Mn)...
Neil Frank, AGA