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Re: more red clay stuff

> ------------------------------
> 
> 
> Thanks, Wright and Onis, for clarifying some of this red-clay
> confusion.
> 
> OK, I guess I stand corrected on the iron test.  I just called
> LaMotte and was told that their iron test won't detect iron
> oxides even with clay particulate in the test water.  But I *do*
> remember reading what George Booth had to say about the initial
> stages of one of his tanks (I think it was the SST).  He said
> they had noted early elevated iron levels, and had attributed it
> to the Dupla laterite.  Could it be that Dupla laterite is really
> loaded with iron oxides, and enough dissolved to register on the
> iron test?  Gee, will any red clay do this?
> 
> I still have some questions on clay in general for anyone who has
> any thoughts on the subject.  Wright wrote:
> 
> >For those who test art clay by stirring it in water and seeing
> >if it all settles, good luck. If the clay is any good at all,
> >it won't!
> 
> 1.  If it doesn't settle well in a jar of water, won't it make a
> mess in the aquarium?  George posted recently about reports of a
> potential bad batch of Dupla laterite clouding the water.  And I
> understand that AP laterite does that, as well.  Or does *good*
> stuff just kinda get stuck to itself and to grains of gravel, and
> therefore is not very mobile?
> 
> 2.  Why won't the clay settle if it is any good?  Is this from a
> CEC point of view?  I did a shake test on generic all-natural
.....

Just my $.02,

As an engineer who uses clays in cut-off trenches I can answer that if the
clay settled any faster it would not be useable for transport into the
small crevises we are trying to seal.  I have no idea why the artists want
it to stay in suspension.  I   have used RedArt brand on all three of my
tanks with good results.  The only case of turbidity that I had was in the
first tank and I belive that it was due to overdosing/undercovering the
clay.  I still have more problems with this tank when replanting, etc.
The solution for me was time.  I simply left a filter to run and emptied
the water trapped in it on a daily basis.  The water below the media was
always more cloudy than the main tank.  In about 2 weeks the tank cleared
nicely.  I  have also had good luck all my plants and no iron problems to
this point.  Hope this helps.

     Paul Wolfenbarger E.I.
     
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	Each man  must for himmself alone decide what is right and what is
	  wrong, which course is patriotic and which isn't.  You
	  cannot shirk this and be a man.


				--Mark Twain