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Cat litter

Strange question, but if the general point of using cat litter is to retain nutrients, would it work having a layer of litter, some kind of fine plastic mesh and then substrate of some kind (gravel etc)? Just figuring out if this would be feasible in a new tank I've purchased
 
I recently took out the substrate in my Rio 125 - soil underneath Cat Litter. The soil was a nuisance when trying to plant/reposition/remove plants and just wasn't working for me. Having two other tanks with only cat litter substrate I could see how much better they were. All had been running for 2 years so plenty of time to judge.

There's no problem with the Cat litter and filter, any cloudiness will clear in record time and if you've put in some mulm from another tank it'll all settle really quickly 😀 Plants stay planted surprisingly well despite my Cories disturbing them, the cat litter holds them firm without damaging the delicate roots and stems.
 
Definitely seems like this is worth a bash, has anybody tried any other brands?.... i'm very lucky to be able to go to a business pet wholesaler and they do about 50-60 types of cat litter (all brands, all sizes) and price would be cheaper for me to get the larger sacks than a single tesco bag that everybody seems to be using. Obviously they dont do tesco brand so what others could be a consideration?.


The sophisticat that somebody mentioned earlier is available... anybody else used this?... if so, what did you think about it?


Thanks :thumbup:
 
I've read here some mention of folk keeping corys in tanks with cat litter substrate. Has anyone noticed any damage to their barbules? I think that's the right word lol
I've always been conscious of putting corydoras onto a sharp substrate, I've only ever kept them on sand so far.
I do have 5 Arcuatus in a cube tank I'd like to pop into the 3ft. Should they stay or should they go now?????
🙂
 
Gfish said:
I've read here some mention of folk keeping corys in tanks with cat litter substrate. Has anyone noticed any damage to their barbules? I think that's the right word lol
I've always been conscious of putting corydoras onto a sharp substrate, I've only ever kept them on sand so far.
I do have 5 Arcuatus in a cube tank I'd like to pop into the 3ft. Should they stay or should they go now?????
🙂
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I've got corys in with mine and it's not done anything to there barbels. With it being relatively light it moves slightly when there sifting. It will be fine mate.
 
Hi all,
i'm very lucky to be able to go to a business pet wholesaler and they do about 50-60 types of cat litter (all brands, all sizes) and price would be cheaper for me to get the larger sacks than a single tesco bag that everybody seems to be using. Obviously they dont do tesco brand so what others could be a consideration?.
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You would need to look through them for any that say "non clumping" and "moler clay".

There is actually an option for buying bulk amounts of non-perfumed "moler clay". It is sold as granules for mopping up oil spills etc. in 30 litre bags. http://www.fentex.co.uk/absorbent-granules.html they are the "NEW SAFETY TREAD -Premium Granules".

cheers Darrel
 
dw1305 said:
Hi all,
i'm very lucky to be able to go to a business pet wholesaler and they do about 50-60 types of cat litter (all brands, all sizes) and price would be cheaper for me to get the larger sacks than a single tesco bag that everybody seems to be using. Obviously they dont do tesco brand so what others could be a consideration?.
Click to expand...
You would need to look through them for any that say "non clumping" and "moler clay".

There is actually an option for buying bulk amounts of non-perfumed "moler clay". It is sold as granules for mopping up oil spills etc. in 30 litre bags. http://www.fentex.co.uk/absorbent-granules.html they are the "NEW SAFETY TREAD -Premium Granules".

cheers Darrel
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Cheers DW.... well the sophisticat (pink) litter states this....

"Lightweight Non-Clumping Pink Cat Litter 30Ltr by Sophisticat is an ideal non-clumping cat litter made from Danish molar clay"
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and

"Its unique pink colour is due to the calcination process; a thermal treatment during manufacture, which helps add to the super absorbency of the litter."
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So i presume this would be fine to use aslong as it is washed thoroughly?


There's another by the same company which is non clumping aswell but it states...

Sophisticat is a lightweight cat litter made from high quality Spanish Sepiolite, a naturally occurring absorbent mineral.
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This also non clumping but just curious to if this would be safe?... it isn't scented from what i tell either.

Link to that one is....

http://www.pet-supermarket.co.uk/produc ... CMP177.htm.


Thanks again DW
 
Sepiolite is white/light grey and would not do the same job, it's baked but not at the high temperature that the pink clay is baked to which changes the structure, it's the 'pink' stuff you need 😉 Sepiolite would break down into sludge very quickly
 
Polly said:
Sepiolite is white/light grey and would not do the same job, it's baked but not at the high temperature that the pink clay is baked to which changes the structure, it's the 'pink' stuff you need 😉 Sepiolite would break down into sludge very quickly
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Thanks for that 🙂.... looks like im off to the wholesalers then for some sophistiCAT for my FISH tank.... that seems so wrong on so many levels ..haha.


Thanks again Polly and DW :thumbup:
 
Hi all,
Sepiolite would break down into sludge very quickly
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Just in the spirit of experimentation I tried both this and the Fuller's Earth based clumping cat litter, and they did indeed form a horrible sludgy mess.

Undaunted I tried the white Sepiolite based litter again in potting compost for terrestrial plants, and it still breaks down fairly rapidly. It might be useful in small amounts as a slow release magnesium source (it is a magnesium silicate mineral) and it also has some CEC, but not very much (10-15 meq/100g).

cheers Darrel
 
dw1305 said:
Hi all,
Sepiolite would break down into sludge very quickly
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Just in the spirit of experimentation I tried both this and the Fuller's Earth based clumping cat litter, and they did indeed form a horrible sludgy mess.

Undaunted I tried the white Sepiolite based litter again in potting compost for terrestrial plants, and it still breaks down fairly rapidly. It might be useful in small amounts as a slow release magnesium source (it is a magnesium silicate mineral) and it also has some CEC, but not very much (10-15 meq/100g).

cheers Darrel
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Cheers for confirming mate, i know to give that one a miss lol :thumbup: .



I think that sophisticat has a larger grain size than the Tesco cat litter?
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Would this be a bad thing?.... i use this cat litter for my cats but ive never used the tesco litter that's been recommended so i really dont know the size difference... but yes the size can be reasonably big in sophisticat.
 
About 10 years ago I tried Sepiolite in shallow pots in the aquarium after reading an article about clay helping roots to establish and being good for them blah blah... Big mistake - HUGE! I ended up with rotting roots and plant that just melted at the bottom. The smell when I took the pots out was unbelievable :silent:

Luckily I'd only tried a couple of pots and the rest of the tank was fine 😀

OK there it is, my dirty little secret is out 😳 I make mistakes so others don't have to 😀
 
PeteA said:
So does cat litter break down and need to be replaced after a number of years then?
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I presume it would break down like akadama and eco complete would after a certain time period.... but most dont usually keep a fully planted tank for years so i doubt if anybody would have had problems to that extent.
 
Hi all,
I dont think the baked type will break down even after several years, I know of koi ponds that have had baked clay granules in the filter sytems for over 20 years.
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I'm pretty sure that is the answer, the balance is between how hot you fire the clay and how much CEC you retain.

A really hot calcining treatment will make the clay physically stable (like pottery), but chemically inert. A low firing temperature will retain CEC, but have less physical stability. I think the cat litter is more towards the pottery end and should remain fairly stable.

cheers Darrel
 
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