Aqua Botanic First Layer Laterite vs. General Hydroponics Diamond Black

[rusticitas]

Excuse me, I meant to say Aquarium Pharmaceuticals not Aqua Botanic.

Is there any practical difference, in anyone's experience, between Aquarium Pharm's First Layer Laterite and General Hydroponics' Diamond Black?

I am planning on trying a non-CO2, Seachem Excel tank and have been reading over Tom's postings on non-CO2 tanks which mention laterite, but I have no experience with that material.

-Jason

 

[rusticitas]

Went with the G.H. Black Diamond

Lacking any replies, I just went with the G.H. "Black Diamond" product, as I was ordering some other things from the same supplier as well.

 

[Tom Barr]

DB is very different than laterite.

I've opted not to mix the sediments with anything really, and I've not found laterite to be useful personally. DB might impart some utility, I played with it for some time, but peat ought to be fine as well, but just a bit messier and not last quite as long.

For non CO2, good washed clay sediment from a wetland ought to do just fine.

Then add sand etc.

Regards,
Tom Barr

 

[rusticitas]

Ah, damn (kind of)...

I had been taking the recommendation from the non-CO2 (sticky) thread that mentioned using it for the first ~0.75 in layer on the bottom of the aquarium, then either Onyx Sand or Fluorite (or similar).

Is this a fairly/somewhat useless material then for non-CO2 planted tank substrate use?

 

[Tom Barr]

No, I think it has some use, less messy and last longer than peat, should be somewhat like zeolite in binding, will be less aggressive in terms of chelating trace metals from flourite and onyx etc.

I've been using clay hydrosoil a great deal for growing weeds in potentially sensitive areas to see how they will do in the Delta here, this way we do not have introduce the plants there, but have the same weather, temps, sediments, water etc.

This allows better predictive use for management.

The by product of such work is a lot of growing of aquatic weeds on many sediment types. I'm talking 100 5 gallon buckets full of various sediment types and washing all of them and screening them for larger particles etc. A lot of work!
Then they are subsampled and measured for N, P, Fe and OM etc.

You can search on line about leonardite, also, laterite really has never show to do much to me. Basically I was(and still am) unconvinced it really helped/s.

I think it really doesn't and we'd be better off adding a little hydrosoil clay instead.
I have 1000lbs if you're interested

It should do very well for non CO2 tanks, all of the tanks in the studies are non CO2

wow, 80 CO2 valves for 80+ tanks?
That's a lot of CO2.

Maybe later


Regards,
Tom Barr

 

[rusticitas]

Maybe I completely misread/misunderstood what Diamond Black is!

I think I completely misunderstood, or misread, what General Hydroponics' Diamond Black product was. Tom, in your previous reply you mention "leonardite." I started to look that up and I saw that that is what D.B. is, not laterite as I had been saying in my posts and in the subject title!

I must have switched the terms sometime during the last week while reading up and did not catch my error. It would seem, therefore, that the subject line and reasoning I used to start this thread off is wrong.

Therefore, with reference to your last post, Tom, it would seem that D.B. is "better" than a laterite product, such as First Layer.

Sorry for the confusion!

-Jason

P.S. Is a "hydrosoil clay" the same thing as leonardite and therefore D.B.?
P.P.S. What is the hydrosoil clay you have 1000 lbs of? And I assume you do not keep that in the garage... ;-)

 

[Tom Barr]

Hydro soil = soil under water, eg out in the Sacramento River Delta, the mud we dig up and use for growing aquatic weeds at the lab.

It's iron rich clay mud.

We have plenty, several thousand acres.

Regards,
Tom Barr

 

[rusticitas]

How would you use that in an aquarium? Isn't clay by nature very small, compacted particles and therefore very little water flow and oxygen? (I'm trying to reason this out from what I understand so far.) Would this be used as an underlayer below something like Fluorite, Onyx Sand, or similar?

Hm. What size tank would need 1 ton? ;-)