API 100% Pure Laterite Review
API Laterite Substrate Additive
If you’re into the planted aquariums like me, you probably know how important it is to have a good available sources of Iron for your plants. Often a limiting factor, without a decent source of Iron, photosynthesis will be inhibited and many plants won’t be able to grow to their full potential. There’s a link in the description for this stuff at the best price I was able to find for it, so if at the end of this video you’re interested in giving your plants a boost, you know where to find it. Before I unbox this stuff and talk about how I incorporate it into my substrate, Lets discuss what this laterite really is and why it can be so beneficial to our plants. So Laterite is a highly aggregated type of soil formed by intense chemical weathering in certain tropical regions throughout the globe.
Tropical weathering, also referred to as laterization happens in these places because of the hot and humid conditions paired with just the right combination of rain fall and drought. Over time, water that passes over certain parent rock grabs a hold of minerals and ends up producing a laterite layer in the soil below.
Laterite gets its red color because its high in Iron oxides and Iron compounds. This material is made up of a very high percentage of Iron when compared to others, making it useful in several different industrial applications.
Lucky for us aquarists it also extremely useful as iron source and a high surface area growing medium.
But here lies an issue. Aquarium plants generally require iron to be in a specific oxidation state being soluble Fe 2+ also called ferrous iron. Now the iron found in laterite is bound to other compounds and in an insoluble state. So how does this iron still supply our plants with usable Fe2+.
Let’s get a little sciency to figure this out.
A few different mechanisms exist to free up bound iron by transforming it to bioavailable iron 2. The most relevant in this case is the activity of microorganisms and the plants themselves.
Certain anaerobic bacteria actually use ferric iron as an electron acceptor the same way you and your fish use O2. This process is effectively at reducing iron to fe 2 making it available to plants for a short period of time.
The next methods are performed by the plant roots. Roots will excrete protons, or acid which is also an effective way of reducing and solubilizing nearby Fe to fe 2 where it can then be imported into the plant. Certain Plants may also secrete chelator molecules called phytosiderephores that scavenge nearby iron allowing the plant to uptake the important micronutrient. So now that we understand how plants can access this cache of iron, let’s open up the box and talk about how this stuff is used.
I purchased a 55 oz box of this first layer pure laterite off amazon for way cheaper than I’ve got it in the past. API recommends using at least 1 oz for every gallon of tank water, but in my opinion, it really depends on how dense you’re going to plant your tank. I don’t think you could really over do it here, but I’ve always used a little less than what’s recommended and seem to still get really good results. Before using this stuff you want to rinse it off with regular tap water to help remove some of the fine dust and smaller particles. This is also going to reduce the chance of any discoloration in your tank, although you would have to use a lot of this stuff and handle it pretty carelessly to do so.
Once you’ve got that out of the way you now simply add it to your substrate mix. I think most people out there are going to use this stuff in three different settings, either with gravel or sand alone, with eco-complete or something similar, or with soil. If you chose to use with gravel and or sand, you’ll want to lay down a layer of this stuff on the bottom along with a small cap and then gently mix in, Followed by an additional 2 inches or so of your same substrate. This stuff doesn’t float, but you want to try and confine it to the bottom layer of substrate. The same technique can be used with substrates like eco-complete.
When it comes to using with soil like I do, I simply mix in about 2-3 cups for every 12 liters of organic potting mix. Since the soil is my bottom layer, I’ve already got it confined to where I want it. Again I’m using the amount of soil not the number of gallons my tank holds as a way of measuring how much I need and again this is my own personal recipe. If I’m going to be setting up a tank that just packed with plants ill simply use a little more.
Alternative Iron Source:
Chelated Iron for direct dosing
(10% DTPA Iron)
Overall, I give this stuff an A+ and recommend all panted tank keepers give it a try at least once. It’s a convenient way of providing your plants with a source of Iron where they might just need it most. It’s hard to tell how long this stuff lasts, but I feel pretty comfortable using it as the sole source of iron for at least 6 months. You can always add in more to select places with a pair of tweezers as you see me do here, or add it to a gelatin capsule the same way you make DIY root tabs.