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Re: substrate iron (was[none])
Karen Randall writes:
<snip>< Another thought occured to me as well. I suspect most of us use a
> substrate that supplies more iron (and possibly other nutrients) than your
> Fluorite substrate.<snip>>
So what percentage of iron content is necessary in a substrate additive like
laterite or other clay if one wants to maintain a tank without teardown over
an extended period of time, say foive or six years? I realise this is
conditional on the size of the tank, the amount of substrate additive, the
types and quantities of plants, etc, etc, ad infinitum, but can someone
generalize on an average tank of a nominal size, say 55 gallons, or maybe 100
gallons with a given substrate additive level as recommended by say, Dupla
(wouldn't that be like 10 g. per gallon, mixed into a one inch layer at the
bottom of the substrate)?
And has anyone actually tested the iron content in their substrate additive
before setup and again after a couple years, in order to demonstrate that iron
is indeed coming out of the clay? Or are we all assuming that the iron thing
Dupla has sold us on is actually happening?
Some folks, I think Karen is among them are not using substrate coils. Do
these tanks deteriorate after a given percentage of substrate iron is
depleted? Or do the keepers of these tanks simply recognize iron deficiency
symptoms and suplement into the water column successfully?
Bob Dixon