I got this along with a BRICK (literally a brick) from donna kaiser who used it for her aquariums. The brick was also clay except very very hard (ill fiddle with that later but if anyone can help me with it that be great)
I was told its clay. Shape of an m&m. Crumbles when u squeeze. When i soak it in water it melts and becomes a puffy mess with white substances.
I took the powder in its bag and poured it as a first layer (very thin) in my emersed setup, then used organic soil on top, then flourite substrate on top.
So my question is, what is this used for? how to use it correctly? What can i do with it?
my guess would be that those are clay pellets that they use for mixing up large batches of clay. crumble, sprinkle, dirt , ect. could probably use the powder in gel caps to kick start an older dirt tank again.
they dont really dissolve bill, i dropped one into open water and it just expanded into what looks like an algae wafer that has been sitting in water for 10 minutes.
maybe i can just grind up into powder form and mix up a MTS with dolomite and M of potash?
I thought it was hydroton at first, but it's useless in a tank. I have used it in a frog tank as an aquifier, but they never expanded when they got wet. And if the brick she sent you is the same material, i would still suspect it being clay. I have yet to see a hydroton brick. Send me a ball or two when you send me plants and maybe i can get a better idea what it is.
These look like home made root tabs that my friend used to make for me. They are made of pottery clay. Forgot the exact content but if you search on AC forum, I believe there are posts with instructions. They are supposed to slowly dissovle under your substrates.
Here is a link. Have not read it for a long time. Will read again later.
i will send bill some and he can confirm it for me
Donna told me they were some clay substance but root tabs would be great too (since im looking for some)
Now correct me if im wrong, once i plunge these into my gravel, it will leave behind clay substance...if i ever disturb the gravel the clay will get everywhere...correct?
yes and no. depends on how deep you bury them. should be at least 2". as long as you don't disturb right on top and don't go down as far as the tab, you should be ok.
The way you use them is to buried them deep into the gravel. If you just put them on top, they will dissolve quickly. I had some issue using these a few years ago in my tank with pleco. The pleco would dig them up too quickly.
It's fine when they dissolve. The clay is very fine. If you ever look at these clay powder, they are very fine. You are most likely going to vaccum them if you ever use a gravel vac.
haha im too afraid to mess with dirt...gona go with a 10 gallon MTS soon once my dolomite comes...i got the stuff so why not try it ^^ Maybe ill grow beautiful plants like you bill
But thanks for the tips guys. Ill give it a try ^^
dolomite? you have extremely soft water out there? and i love dirt tanks. are you kidding me? no need for root tabs for like 2 years, give or take. yeah, twist my arm, i HATE root tabs. but i will definitely get some of those clay tabs for later on down the road. crypts are heavy root feeders and they just LOVE having their roots in dirt. and since i have crypts in every tank, every tank has dirt. especially my rare crypt tank. too many special (to me) plants to mess around with forgetting to get root tabs and the like.
I have this brick of clay i will post pictures up in a few mins. If it is genuine clay i might grind it up and put it in as well. If the balls of m&m's are root tabs then im gona have to find a clay matter ^^
I think she said it was clay as well...when i took a shaving of it off, it crumbled as you can see on the right. took the shavings and threw it in water but i have yet to observe it...probably is dehydrated clay...can i just grind this up and throw it in the MTS solution?
haha sounds good. I think tomorow i will dunk a few of these fert tabs below my plants. Im assuming 1 per 6"x6" of tank space should suffice...
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