Vermiculite and fuller's earth

["Steven Maier" <stevemaier at ameritech_net>]

Hi Robert,
Yes the Fuller's earth I am referring to is Shultz aquatic plant soil. As
far as the vermiculite I soaked and stirred it for about three days. I then
took the " Shultz " and wetted it with a 50/ 50 solution of water and
Flourish. I poured off everything floating in the vermiculite buckets and
mixed the remainder in a baby pool with the " Shultz " . The goal of this
was to achieve max. cation exchange and min. organics in the substrate. also
I did not use substrate heating and was attempting to maintain some
permeability (I.E avoid clay) The mixture of verm. and the " Shultz" is very
easy to work with. I also believe that the Shultz might be an Ideal startup
material as it absorbs liquid fertilizer like a sponge and does not
dissolve. Inception date of the aquarium was 6/7. so far no algae...lol
Steve Maier