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Re: Subject: Fertilizer balls
I know Steve Pushak is out there reading this and will tell you he has
all sorts of information on his WEB page about using pottery clay and
even reccomends a brand name and source.
There are basically two types of true pottery clay available in hobby
stores: white and red clay. The white clay has been bleached and
processed so all the red pigmentation is removed. I dont know the
process in detail, but from what I do know what is left is void of any
useable iron. The red clay is totally natural. I have been using a
combination of red clay, subsoil, and sphagnum peat in the substrate of
all my propogation tanks for over six months, without adding any
micronized iron or FTE with excellent results: proof being the 100 or so
people I have sold the plants to in the last month.
The most difficult thing about working with clay is how messy it is if
you use too much. I learned that the hard way. Only very small balls,
baked or not should be used. When removing a deeply rooted plant, you
will also uproot most of the clay, and if raw it will quickly severly
cloud your whole tank. But other than that it has worked great!
Regards,
Robert Paul H.
AGA
http://www.aquabotanic.com