stuworrall said:
I did think of that but id read that the bigger particles promote better circulation so wasnt sure if this would mean the nutrients would be absordbed by the AS. I was using the aquacare as I had some left that I bought when I started back in the hobby. I currently have my Rio 125 planted up with AS only so I may well do that again.
Dont get me wrong, im no expert on this so am not suggesting the mesh is a good thing, i was just after some for/against advice as Id not seen it used before.[/quote]
That's the same claim made about heating cables
Improves circulation.
What do roots do?
They add O2 and pipe circulation into the sediments.
This(power sand) does not help AS absorb roots.
We have had this debate for sometime in the USA.
And within our local club.
To date, not one person anywhere for that matter, has shown
the circulation issue has any merit, this also applies to 25-30 years worth of heating cable debates. Many try without cables and without the powersand and have the same results time and time again. No one reports that they have better growth.
Some claim they "believe" they have slightly better "this or that"...(nothing anyone else can apparantly see)
I think they are just trying to justify that they spent $ on something that's worthless and bought marketing baloney, just do not want to admit it and let it go. The proponents of Powersand also curiously have never tried using ADA Aqua soil alone to compare the ADA AS+PS to ADA AS. I do not claim that ADA As is not a good product, I think it is and that, not PS is what is helping plant growth, folks have used it and seen the differences, comparing ADA AS+PS to plain sand does not tell you what of the 2 parts is helping. Only by trying each of the products by themselves or in conjunction can you see.
Some do not want to look at the other side of the coin.
I have, and I tested it. Also tested what is in ADA AS and PS for soils testing.
They also have never bothered to test what specifically is in powersand.
Many have long criticized EI dosing for not testing, suggesting "testing and learning" then this same crowd gives a Free pass to ADA, not testing what is in ANY of their products , accepting it on faith alone.
Light and CO2 are more important than nutrients, there's plenty in ADA AS already, plants establish and grow fast.
Often times, too fast. If you want faster growth, add more CO2 and light, not big ugly pumic.
BTW, PS adds mostly peat and NO3.
Not much else.
KNO3 and peat moss pumic, all very cheap..........PS? Nope.
A Jar test can show you this rather quickly for NH4/NO3/PO4 using hobbyist test kits and 200mls of water + 5 grams of PS and wait 24-48 hours and test the water. This is the other thing lacking with the folks that claim this baloney, they virtually never offer a way to answer the question or a method. They tend to stick to the belief system and marketing in the company's sales brochures. Gets old and it's the same stuff that Dupla and their supporters did 20 years before.
Stainless steel mesh was added because many uprooted the PS and it looks ugly, that they could not argue about or debate, so they quickly started doing the SS mesh rather than listen or test.
Regards,
Tom Barr