Soilmaster comes in four colors, Red, Charcoal, Green, and Brown. When I talked to the Soilmaster Marketing Rep back in October or November they were phasing out the brown or green due to lack of interest. I would think brown and green would be the two that places would be most interested in since those two colors would match grass and dirt the best...the Soilmaster Charcoal, Brown, and Green are actually dyed. As I understand it they are "fired" after dying to make sure they retain their color.
Soilmaster and Soilmaster Select are the same product. The "Select" is much finer grained and similar in particle size and is about a third the size of regular Soilmaster. If anyone wants to see the size difference, go to the Pro's Choice website and contact them by either phone or e-mail. They will send you a pamphlet that includes couple small packages (less than 1 ounce) of Soilmaster, Soilmaster Select, Rapid Dry, and Pro Mound Clay free of charge. I no longer have these or I would post pictures.
Shultz Aquatic Plant Soil (SAPS) and Turface (Both products of the Profile Company) are the same thing and are made from Illite and Fuller's Earth. Soilmaster (Produced by the Oil-Dri corporation) is very similar to these two but is made from montmorillonite clay. Both Soilmaster and Turface/SAPS are called "calcined clays".
Below are a few definitions on the above products from this site:
http://home.infinet.net/teban/jamie.htm There are nice comparisons of independent testing done on various substrates, including Flourite. Notice both the low the iron content and CEC of Flourite in comparison with either the Turface or Profile Products!
Montmorillonite - one of the major components of bentonite and fuller's earth. Hydrous aluminum silicate with a considerable capacity for exchanging part of the aluminum for Mg and bases. High natural adsorptive power. Good CEC.
Illite - group of clay minerals having the structure KAl3Si3O10(OH)2. Colorless to pale brown potassium mica. High CEC.
Fuller's earth - porous, colloidal aluminum silicate clay mineral that lacks plasticity and is often used as an adsorbent, folter medium, and a carrier for catalysts. High adsorptive power. Grey to yellow color. Good CEC.
Calcined clays - clays that are heated to a high temperature to cause an extreme hardening and oxidation. They can then be fracted into smaller pieces to be used as a primary substrate base. They become very porous on firing, and provide many nutrient binding sites. Chemically and physically stable. Good CEC.
All of the above seem safe for planted tanks. I have been using SAPS in my tanks for over a year now along with Flourite. I've only used Soilmaster Select for 4-5 months now and both seem to be as safe as other planted tank substrates. I haven't noticed any changes in water parameters of my Soilmaster tank as of yet. GH and KH have remained as stable as my water supply
