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Re: Dry Kitty Litter
On Sat, 20 Dec 1997, Dany Leong wrote:
> This is the first time I am using kitty litter as part of my substrate.
> The tank is set up with 1,5" of kitty Litter (made from betonite clay)
> cover with 1" of fine sand. After filling out my tank, I notice is that
> the kitty Litter in contact with the sand has been expanded but the
> underneath clay remains dry!!!
>
> Is that normal ??
>
Made from bentonite? I don't think that's common kitty litter. Probably
the bentonite swelled before water infiltrated very far into it and filled
all of the pore space. Bentonite without the pore space is virtually
impermeable to water, so the remaining dry kitty litter might stay dry for
quite a while. Bentonite is used in the water well business as a very
effective seal.
I think most people mix their kitty litter with sand or gravel, rather
than using a layer of pure litter, and that probably contributed to your
problem. If you wait long enough it probably will all get saturated,
but I wonder, do you really want a layer of gumbo at the bottom of your
substrate?
Roger Miller