Re: : laterite/flourite - water column

["Robert H" <robertpaulh at earthlink_net>]

>I saw a reference that implied that nutrients from the substrate needed to
become soluble before the plant could use them.  I would have thought the
plant was drawing these nutients from the substrate material itself or from
nutrients that are bound to the substrate and not readily available to the
water column.<<

Jay, laterite and clay, (flourite) provide oxidized iron, Fe+3, which is a
form of iron that is not easily used by plants. Organic acids and compounds
turn this into Fe+2 which plants CAN readily use. Substrate Gold, unlike
other laterite like products, is fortified with all the macro and minor
nutrients by the manufacturer. If it gets into the water, it may actually
add more nutrients than you want in your water colum. But mainly laterite is
kept buried in the substrate to prevent a muddy mess.

Robert Paul H
http://www.aquabotanic.com
RK Aquaria Plant Forum moderator
http://www.rk2000.com/cgi-bin/plants.cgi
AB Newsletter
http://www.aquabotanic.com/mailing/index.html

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