August 28, 201115 yr comment_452439 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. Report
August 29, 201115 yr comment_452453 An oven won't be hot enough for clay, you might need a kiln Report
August 29, 201115 yr Author comment_452460 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? Report
August 29, 201115 yr Author comment_452462 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 Report
February 4, 201214 yr Author comment_471225 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. Report
February 4, 201214 yr comment_471252 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 Report
February 5, 201214 yr comment_471271 This sounds like a promising idea Where did you source the Turface from? Report
February 5, 201214 yr comment_471274 What is the grain size of the turface? I googled it and there are a few different colours - what colour is your one? Report
February 5, 201214 yr Author comment_471294 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 Report
February 5, 201214 yr Author comment_471296 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) Report
February 7, 201214 yr comment_471626 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. Report
February 8, 201214 yr Author comment_471644 What's it doing to the pH of your water? Doesn't change it Report
February 8, 201214 yr Author comment_471645 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? Report
February 10, 201214 yr Author comment_471899 My Turface arrived today. It looks sweet, the granule size is good, as is the colour :bounce: And $150 gets you this much Report
February 10, 201214 yr comment_471905 Awesome, I think you should send a bag up to me so I can do a parallel trail. Report
February 14, 201214 yr comment_472394 That colour looks like what I need What does it look like wet? Report
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