Re: Substrate recommendation --Lapis Lustre

To: Aquatic-Plants at actwin_com
Subject: Re: Substrate recommendation --Lapis Lustre
From: gtong at sirius_com (G.Tong)
Date: Wed, 7 Feb 1996 16:26:25 -0800

>Please forgive me for disagreeing, Greg, but Lapis Lustre is _not_ a safe
>brand name. RMC Lonestar digs most, if not all, of it right off the beach
>(around Davenport, I believe), and does nothing whatsoever to remove the
>shells. (snip)
>
>How did you do your vinegar test? The bubbles one could expect from the
>strongest full-strength vinegar are very, very fine and subtle. A really
>bright light behind a clear cylinder is needed to see the fine streams of
>bubbles (if you can see them at all).

My vinegar test--a tablespoon of Lapis Lustre under an inch of white
vinegar. I held the bottle and vials (I did several tests) up to sunlight.

I also tested Lapis Lustre in a cup of tap water all by itself for two
weeks-covered with Saran Wrap, sitting on a heating pad, and receiving
halogen lighting 10 hours every day. I measured pH and dKh every day and
there was no change in either. My tap water is at a pH of 8.0 and it stayed
that way. It's possible that a lower pH may dissolve the shells you found
but right now, I can't say that I've had the same experience you did.

Greg. Tong
San Francisco, CA, USA
gtong at sirius_com

"Every infinity is composed of only two halves."