# How do They Make Their Substrates?



## Apaa (Jul 21, 2006)

I know that some substrate is fired clay. Others I have absolutely how they are made. I read that aquasoil is humate. Ive heard that other products are this or that. How do they make things like florabase, or aquasoil. What processes go into them? How do they develope the soils and amendmnets that they come up with?


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## bigstick120 (Mar 8, 2005)

If we knew that we wouldnt have to spend the money to buy their products!


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## Apaa (Jul 21, 2006)

I have never ran across soil development. I dont know anyone that knows anything about dirt. I dont know anyone or cant find anyone that knows how to make dirt. There has to be something. I know that or thikn that Florabase os made from clay and earth from volcanic ash and something. I dont know how they get it into that shape however. I dont want to ask for their secret formula but there has to be something to it for there to be so many different types.

If I were to say to myself, self, lets make an aquarium substrate for this that or the other. Lets add some of this, and some of those. Oh, and a little bit of this too. Dont forget some Fe.


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## marrow (Mar 4, 2007)

There used to be a cement mixer ( the big truck size ones) that we would use for mixing soil basically peat, perlite and sand in a large commercial greenhouse complex. All ingredients were steam sterilized before going into the mixer Sometimes they would muck about with different additives to the soil such as styrofoam beads or clay or used resterilized potting soil. Once some clay was added to the mix and too much water and we had a truckload of little clay beads, if we had fired them I imagine we would have ended up with some like florabase or if we added some ferts something like aquasoil. I imagine some combo of sterilizing, rolling and firing is done in commercial aquatic soil production as well.


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## Apaa (Jul 21, 2006)

Thats interesting. I have a quite large model of a rock tumbler tha tI use for other things. I might try to see what I can do with that just to experiment with the idea.


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