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RE: Profile / Turface
A number of recent post have indicated some confusion about Profile /
Turface - who makes it, who distributes it, which variety is which...
I've done a bit of digging, and it appears that one company makes the
product(s) and numerous companies distribute it (them) through a number of
channels.
The company which is responsible for both Profile and for Turface is Profile
Products LLC. They have a web site, Profile Products Online, at
http://www.profileproducts.com/.
There are two product "families" - Turface and Profile, and various products
within each family - Truface MVP and Turface Pro League - which differ in
granular size, with MVP being composed of larger particles than Pro League;
Profile Professional Soil Conditioner, Profile Clay Soil Conditioner,
Profile Aquatic Plant Soil. The web site has lots of information about all
of these products. Turface is a calcined clay (as is Seachem Flourite - only
made from a different clay) and Profile is made from Fullers Earth (a type
of clay mineral). The web site doesn't say if Profile is calcined (baked)
during processing or not.
According to the Profile Products Online web site, Turface is actually
manufactured by a company called Applied Industrial Materials Corporation,
i.e. AIMCOR http://www.aimcornet.com/. If the Profile line of products is
made by AIMCOR or not is unclear from the web site - they just don't say.
But a visit to AIMCOR reveals it to be more of a holding company - they own
other companies, in a wide range of locations and engaged in a variety of
bussinesses, one of which is involved with clacining (baking) clay for
industrial purposes.
To further confuse (or is it confound?) the issue, Profile is further
distributed to other companies for eventual distribution/sale to the
marketplace (consumer). I suspect, but cannot say for certain, that the
Schultz branded products are merely repackaged materials from Profile
Products LLC.
Turface and Profile (at least the Profile sold by Shultz) are NOT the same
thing sold in different bags. The base clay minerals are different. If you
want to know more, subscribe to Planted Aquaria magazine.... an article will
be appeaing in an upcoming issue which will give a metals analysis of both
products.
Profile seems to be sold by a few other companies as well. Whether or not
these other companies are merely repackaging from bulk or not I don't know,
nor do I know if all products with "Profile" in their name are made from the
same clay mineral. The metals analysis which I have seen was done on the
Shultz product.
Regardless of who makes it, or who sells it, the choice for us as aquatic
gardeners would probably best be made by "form factor" - choose and use the
one which has the proper and appropriate granular size and color to look
good in an aquarium. From the numbers in the metals analysis that I have
seen, I would venture to guess that either Turface (Aimcor) and Profile
(Shultz) would probably make good choices as aquarium substrates. They will
certainly set the "high CEC" crowd spinning...
James Purchase
Toronto