Has anyone tried using Kitty Litter as base fert

[David]

Hiya everyone

recently I have been told in another forum that Kitty Litter can be used as a base fert as it is...how would I say..clay laterite. Has anyone tried this yet....

[Tristan]

er... kitty litter is clay.. but not laterite...
i don't think it's a good idea in singapore... cuz according to my sis who keeps hamsters, the kitty litters we can get here all have some funny stuff inside that isn't safe...
if you can find a brand of kitty little that is pure clay(without the weird chemicals) can post here? i read that kitty litter has a high CEC...

[DEA]

laterite is general term for soils containing high levels of bivalent iron
clay is strictly speaking something like al203.2si02.2h20
so if the clay comes from a region which also contains high levels of bivalent iron it wouldn't be wrong to call it lateritic clay, i guess

kitty litter has been used quite widely over in the US of A, but perhaps the kind they get are different from ours
without looking at the composition it's impossible to say whether or not it's suitable for aquariums
gnome, if you're looking at this [:] help

and yes, clays do have high CEC
in a test conducted by PAM (Dave Gomberg) kitty litter hit a 41.1 meq/100g CEC where the normal is around 20+

[Tristan]

ooo.... maybe someone would like to try and post their results? what is around 20+? normal clay? hmm... still.. higher than gravel...

[Philip]

Aiya dont use it if u always change you setup..I used it 4 years back when I first started... hairgrass and glosso grows quite fast and well in it but whenever u uproot the plants ...u will wait for a long time be the dirt stir up will clear.. and no matter now much u soak or wash it b4 use its stil the same... dont bother using it unless u want your setup to be very permenant

[Tristan]

... dont bother using it unless u want your setup to be very permenant

... no such thing lah... still need to trim plants rite?
which brand did you use?

[David]

hi philip

so its good as a base fert but kicks up lots of dirt when uprooting? Think it will be the same for any soilbased fert. How about leeching into the water? thanks for the info in advance

[DEA]

what philip here is saying is that unless you're very confident that you won't be rescaping your tank, kitty litter is not a good choice

sherwin and dennis otoh have experienced good results with soil
they overcame the problem of soil coming up with careful siphoning

[loupgarou]

I tried using kitty litter and it sucks.

cos I was probably using the wrong brand and you don't see people documenting the chemical breakdown of kitty litter on the packaging. I think profile is a kitty litter right. so anyway you can't get that in singapore.

what happens was that the kitty litter has such a fine white powder that I couldn't get it out and it water was cloudy for a month (until i tore it apart), despite numerous water changes, chemical clumping methods. the fine powder settled on all the plants, blocked of the light and formed a base for algae to grow on. (yeah algae grew very well).

[David]

...so in a nutshell not such a good idea?[:0]

[DEA]

no shit sherlock

[Philip]

----------------
On 12/24/2001 1:21:02 AM

what philip here is saying is that unless you're very confident that you won't be rescaping your tank, kitty litter is not a good choice

sherwin and dennis otoh have experienced good results with soil
they overcame the problem of soil coming up with careful siphoning
----------------

Yeah man that what I meant.. I also has the problem CHris experience.... damn bad lor.. soil is one thing but this kitty litter has so much fine particle ...that despite mi rinising many times b4 using it it still the same... lor

[sherchoo]

When I uproot my plants, the soil comes out but clears within hours.... very scary. But know the this kitter litter sounds even more scarier, I wdefinately not gonna try using it.....

[wks]

For me, I used aquatic compost which is a good alternative. I do not need to fertilise my plants (big plus point) except using only Seachem Flouish Excel. I don't use any CO2 supply, not even DIY type.

My plants still grow like weeds and I just leave it that way. If u want a very low maintenance tank (I feed the fish 3 times a week), use soil based substrate.

[Simon]

----------------
On 12/26/2001 5:35:26 PM

For me, I used aquatic compost which is a good alternative. I do not need to fertilise my plants (big plus point) except using only Seachem Flouish Excel. I don't use any CO2 supply, not even DIY type.

My plants still grow like weeds and I just leave it that way. If u want a very low maintenance tank (I feed the fish 3 times a week), use soil based substrate.
----------------

care to give us the info for yr supply for aquatic compost?

[DEA]

his method is machiam diana walstad one ^ ^
same as juggler oso
what plants are you keeping, wks?

[wks]

----------------
On 12/26/2001 5:49:32 PM

his method is machiam diana walstad one ^ ^
same as juggler oso
what plants are you keeping, wks?
----------------

Yep, I followed some of Diana Walstad's method becoz I figured if hers can work in the states, it should work here. Unlike her tank, I change water once every 4 weeks and I don't overfeed the fish coz the fish waste is good enough to fert the plants.
The plants which I keep include:
a) Blyxa aubertii
b) Blyxa japonica
c) Barclaya longifolia
d) Cryptocoryne balansae
e) Cryptocoryne nurii
f) Cryptocoryne wendii
g) Cryptocoryne willisii
h) Echinodorus tenellus
i) Hygrophila polysperma
j) Lemna minor
k) Pista stratiotes

[DEA]

sounds good for low tech tank
how're the h. polysperma doing?
with such fast growing plants the nutrients get used very quickly
the rest are quite slow growers, no problems, especially the cryptocorynes
you got pics of the b. longifolia? any flower buds? with soil it should be doing quite well

[wks]

Hi DEA,
My b. longifolia is definitely growing quite well. Unfortunately I do not have any photo of my plant. It still doesn't flower.

[jacian]

wks,
I am very interested in the aquatic compost thing. Where did you get it?