I've noticed those just starting out in the hobby are left a bit in the air on substrates. They can layer, but they'll want to move plants around, they can use Aquasoil but it will not respond well to this either and many don't like the price. If one goes with SMS, turface, EC, fluorite etc. then there's months of consistent dosing ahead to get nutrients into the substrate in which time the plants are more vulnerable to missed dosing. A new routine and a greater challenge with nutrient distribution isn't exactly the best of both worlds.
So why not just take any number of these relatively inert products with a decent CEC and dump them into an intense nutrient bath for a while to get some of the benefits of sediment without the punishment for uprooting things? It wouldn't be too bad for use with planted aquariums in stores either, given how often they move things in and out.
My first concern is curing time. How long will it take to load one of these substrates to a reasonable capacity? A product sold with this solution in the bag would definitely make things easier. The product could be packaged, left to sit for a few months, then shipped out.
-Philosophos
So why not just take any number of these relatively inert products with a decent CEC and dump them into an intense nutrient bath for a while to get some of the benefits of sediment without the punishment for uprooting things? It wouldn't be too bad for use with planted aquariums in stores either, given how often they move things in and out.
My first concern is curing time. How long will it take to load one of these substrates to a reasonable capacity? A product sold with this solution in the bag would definitely make things easier. The product could be packaged, left to sit for a few months, then shipped out.
-Philosophos