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Re: [APD] loam tanks



Loam is actually a textural class of soil that is made up of 
approximately 40%sand, 40%silt and 20%clay.  Try doing a search for a 
textural triangle.  Loam and its just slightly finer cousin silt loam 
are considered to be the best of all soils.  Very silky smooth feel, 
good drainage and water holding ability and just enough clay to add some 
nutrient holding ability and aggregate stability.

How do I know this you ask....I had my Soils midterm yesterday:)  The 
problem here is that the other persons opinion of what a loam is my not 
be a true definition of a loam.  What ever you do, make sure you soil 
material has no organic material.  Midwest colleges usually have 
extensive soil department websites full of tons of information.  Many of 
those colleges even have soil judging teams that compete to see who can 
correctly classify the most soils by feel and taste.

Dennis

S. Hieber wrote:
> In a general way, it means a soil underlayment. More techinically, it would be an organic soil that was not entirely clay but which contains porous material, but is a not too heavy garden mix of dirt stuff. It's not really a technical termthough, it's bascially the stuff in your backyard garden and anyone is freet o use the term how they want. Even those that use soil underlayments of nursery potting soil might suggest that one is to be avoided and another sought. Thre's nothing wrong with interst in soil underlayment planted aquaria. Lots of folks prefer them. But if you have interest in them, them I urge reference to Walsad, the master of the dirt tank method. Having a soil tank and not reading Walstad is like having breakfast cereal and not including the milk.
>  
> sh
>  
> * * * * * * * * * * * 
> The Northeast Council of Aquarium Societies (NEC) celebrates its 50th year of service at its 31st annual convention, April 7-9, 2006 -- including *An Evening with Aquarium Legends*.
>  
> Read the speaker list, then download the registration form, and get set to join the fun at what promises to be the year's biggest tropical fish convention.
>  
> http://northeastcouncil.org/html/
>  
> And while you're there, attend the AGA's annual meeting Friday afternoon (2-4pm). This year's speaker is Claus Christensen, Tropica's Managing Director. 
>
>
> ----- Original Message ----
> From: Joel Fizette <sentientpuppet at gmail_com>
> To: aquatic plants digest <aquatic-plants at actwin_com>
> Sent: Saturday, March 11, 2006 3:04:06 AM
> Subject: [APD] loam tanks
>
>
> When I first decided to start my plant tank I came accross this article
> http://www.thekrib.com/Plants/kelly-intro.html I thought it sounded great
> and first set out to do it but I couldn't figure out the details through all
> my research....so I bought some laterite.
> What I couldn't figure out was where the hell to get this loam... I live in
> washington state, is there anyone out there that can tell me where to find
> it? What exactly am I looking for and how do I measure these things like
> clay content and such? That article said not to buy potting soil but it was
> written 11 years ago... is there some product out there that suits our needs
> now? Anyone here use these methods themselves? Is it outdated maybe? should
> I try my luck elsewhere? Am I getting overly inquisitive?
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> Aquatic-Plants at actwin_com
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>
>   
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