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substrate iron II
Last weekend I posted the following question:
> Can anyone (in addition to Rhonda Wilson and Diana Walstad) report
> long-term success in a planted tank without adding chelated iron to
> either the water column or the substrate? I'm particularly interested
> in the performance of soil-based substrates, substrates with laterite,
> or Flourite substrates in high growth rate tanks with bright light and
> added CO2. By "long-term" I mean at least two years.
I received no answer, negative or positive, on or off the list. How does
one interpret the absence of an answer? Does it mean that oodles of
people have tried and failed, so it probably isn't possible? Does it mean
that success with the method is limited to humble people who don't want to
advertise their gardening skills? Does it mean that the question is
utterly boring and not worth a response, or that everyone was looking the
other way when I posted the question?
Or could it mean that laterite - long touted as a great source of
substrate iron - is actually completely inadequate? The same could be
asked about Flourite, which was also promoted on this list as a high-iron
substrate material. And venerable dirt -- usually so sufficient for
supplying iron to fast growing garden plants; is it also a bust?
Roger Miller
In Albuquerque, under brilliant blue skies.