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Hey all,
Currently I am taking a class in Ecological
Anthropology, and my professor, who has spent
a great great deal of time in South America,
was discussing Laterite today.
He said that farming is difficult in laterite,
due to the fact that after 3-4 years of use,
it turns basically to Iron, rendering it useless.
I asked him about aquarium laterite, and he said yes,
it was the same thing, and yes, it does turn to iron after
3-4 years in a planted tank. He also said that after only -2-3 agricultural seasons, it is stripped of 90% of the useful minerals in it.
Has anyone kept laterite for more than 2-3 years?
I dont think I will be using it now after hearing that,
despite interest.
As I read online it states:
"Laterite is a surface formation in tropical areas which is enriched in iron and aluminium ".
So, is this really safe for aquarium use?
Most of the information I have read about it states it is not safe for use with live fish, and can be very deadly.
Supposedly a lot of companies "claim" that their particular "grade" of laterite is aquarium safe.
Dont know If I buy that, similar companies also say palm oil is safe and ugh, it sure aint.


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Hi
The Laterite that I am using is SeaChem's Fluorite. It is
fractionated Laterite. That is, the clay was wetted and
made into bricks which were then baked and ground into
aquarium gravel sized pieces (#2 or #3 gravel).
My current substrate has been in use for over 13 years.
I am still growing plants and throwing them away by the
pound every other week. In a 30G tank my fish load
consists of 5 Black Skirt tetras and a solitary Cherry
Barb. I run 65 watts (CP) @ 8800K of light for
10 hours/day. The main attribute of the laterite
is the iron, and it is necessary for plant growth.
The fluorite releases it into the plant's roots as
they grow between the pieces and adhere to them.
I've never read anything in any of the aquarium literature
about Laterite or Fluorite becoming inactive. I have
heard of a couple of the other "soils" wearing out.

Honestly, I cannot think of a better, long term, substrate.

From a soil angle, the fields are good for about 2-3
years and then it flat wears out especially if they don't
rotate crops. It is a clay and not a nutrient rich loam.

That is why the slash and burn type of farming is
so prevalent in the tropical jungle areas.
The crops deplete the very poor soil of nutrients and then
the typical farmer simply moves on because trying to take
care of a large field is next to impossible with out modern
ground working equipment and chemicals. In many cases if
you were to treat the fields the chemicals would simply run
off instead of soaking into the "soil" (clay) and pollute
the nearby streams/rivers, etc.
Frank


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