amtiskaw Posted August 28, 2011 Report Share Posted August 28, 2011 I've been thinking about trying to produce some home made flourite. Get some iron-rich laterite clay Mix in some micro ferts Force through a mesh, scraping off the extruded clay every 5mm Bake in an oven for a bit Lush plants! Am I missing something here? I've done a bit of googling, and found a couple of vague references to a few people doing it. I'd like to use flourite when I re-do my 450 l tank, but it's bloody expensive stuff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GZ_Loach Posted August 29, 2011 Report Share Posted August 29, 2011 An oven won't be hot enough for clay, you might need a kiln Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amtiskaw Posted August 29, 2011 Author Report Share Posted August 29, 2011 Hmm, you might be right. I read a post saying you can bake clay at oven temps to set it enough for aquarium use, but to get what Seachem call "stable fracted" you need 1100 C. That's when it becomes a calcined clay, i.e it expands and gets lots of pores formed. Bonsai growers used calcined clay, and you can buy it fairly cheaply (really cheaply compared to Flourite, lol) but I don't know the composition of the clay they use - if it's iron rich. Still googling around. I wonder what it'd cost to rent some kiln time from a pottery outfit? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amtiskaw Posted August 29, 2011 Author Report Share Posted August 29, 2011 Found this post, which confirms I'm barking up the right tree >> Dr. Morin, could you please comment on this? You stated at one point I >> believe that Flourite was a naturally mined material. Is it subjected to >> high heat (fired) during processing (to increase internal pore space I would >> assume) or is it just cleaned, crushed and bagged? >Well, I can't say too much without getting in trouble ;-) >All I can say is, the material has experienced high levels of heat. >It is naturally mined. And the order actually would be crushed, >cleaned, and bagged ;-) >Hope that helps, but I can't really say much more without giving away >a little bit of the "secret". >- -Greg Morin >Gregory Morin, Ph.D. ~~~~~~~Research Director~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ >Seachem Laboratories, Inc. http://www.seachem.com 888-SEACHEM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amtiskaw Posted February 4, 2012 Author Report Share Posted February 4, 2012 Just an update. I've managed to get a shipment of Turface, which is a commercial calcined clay. $150 for 120 litres shipped! The same amount of Seachem Flourite would cost $1217 at NZ retail prices :happy2: It doesn't have baked-in ferts but it has a very high CEC rating, so it absorbs ferts from the water column and makes them available to root feeders. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe Posted February 4, 2012 Report Share Posted February 4, 2012 So you could just mix up some dry ferts, mix them with water, and soak your clay in it and just put it in the tank Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amtiskaw Posted February 5, 2012 Author Report Share Posted February 5, 2012 That's the plan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiwiplymouth Posted February 5, 2012 Report Share Posted February 5, 2012 This sounds like a promising idea Where did you source the Turface from? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe Posted February 5, 2012 Report Share Posted February 5, 2012 What is the grain size of the turface? I googled it and there are a few different colours - what colour is your one? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amtiskaw Posted February 5, 2012 Author Report Share Posted February 5, 2012 This sounds like a promising idea Where did you source the Turface from? I happened across a guy who was importing some to use for bonsai tree soil. If my trial works out I'll ask him how he sourced it, and we can sort out a group buy if anyone's keen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amtiskaw Posted February 5, 2012 Author Report Share Posted February 5, 2012 What is the grain size of the turface? I googled it and there are a few different colours - what colour is your one? It hasn't arrived yet, but it should look the same as this: http://s766.photobucket.com/albums/xx301/lmjusa/?action=view¤t=Picture374.jpg Turface MVP is the one you want. You can buy a ton for about $550 US, (plus shipping, haha) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe Posted February 5, 2012 Report Share Posted February 5, 2012 Cool :thup: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Li@m Posted February 6, 2012 Report Share Posted February 6, 2012 Cool sounds promising. Keep us updated :thup: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CodKing Posted February 6, 2012 Report Share Posted February 6, 2012 :spop: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phoenix44 Posted February 6, 2012 Report Share Posted February 6, 2012 What's it doing to the pH of your water? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bilbo Posted February 7, 2012 Report Share Posted February 7, 2012 I can get turface. A friend of mine has it and he has said he is happy if anyone on here wants some to let me know. I have a little bit that I am sampling and from all accounts its fantastic stuff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amtiskaw Posted February 8, 2012 Author Report Share Posted February 8, 2012 What's it doing to the pH of your water? Doesn't change it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amtiskaw Posted February 8, 2012 Author Report Share Posted February 8, 2012 I can get turface. A friend of mine has it and he has said he is happy if anyone on here wants some to let me know. I have a little bit that I am sampling and from all accounts its fantastic stuff. Good news! Any idea on pricing? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CodKing Posted February 8, 2012 Report Share Posted February 8, 2012 Yes please!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FraserNZ Posted February 8, 2012 Report Share Posted February 8, 2012 yes please :bounce: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amtiskaw Posted February 10, 2012 Author Report Share Posted February 10, 2012 My Turface arrived today. It looks sweet, the granule size is good, as is the colour :bounce: And $150 gets you this much Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiwiplymouth Posted February 10, 2012 Report Share Posted February 10, 2012 Awesome, I think you should send a bag up to me so I can do a parallel trail. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe Posted February 10, 2012 Report Share Posted February 10, 2012 !drool: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CodKing Posted February 14, 2012 Report Share Posted February 14, 2012 That colour looks like what I need What does it look like wet? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amtiskaw Posted February 16, 2012 Author Report Share Posted February 16, 2012 Like this Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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