[karnivor]

Ive been toying with Montmorillonite, which for the unitiated is a form of clay produced by the weathering of Volcanic ash.

Presnetly it is used by the Japanese to line their Koi ponds to produce some of the best Koi in the world.
It is also used to provide minerals to Difficult to keep crystal red shrimps.
Scientific evidence exists to show that it aids the formation of lipids and RNA and has many beneficial qualities.
It is also capable of binding nutrients and floccultaing suspended Algae.
In fact the benefits seem almost endless and the addition of small quantities to a reef tank or a bed of it, where water can flow over it is of interest to me.

I can find no reference to its use on reefs but its worth noting that as a volcanic mud,it exists in many of the areas that reefs form, and is undoubtedly washed into the sea, possibly adding to the local mineral makeup of the water.

Tommo, have you used it in your koi pond? and have you ever considered its use in a reef?

I'd be interested in raising a debate on the subject for anyone to comment on.

Opinions anyone?

[tommo]

I have used this on my koi, and it genuinely does seem to have a positive effect on fish boosting their immunity and improving digestion. It also works as a flocculant, in suspension, being a clay, which would enhance mechanical filtration (a massive bug bear of mine)

Might be worth a stab

Tom

[lindsay]

Must admit i like the idea of this and can see myself trying it at some point on the fish system ,prob in a purpose built trickle filter.

[karnivor]

Its interesting to hear your comments Tommo, regarding the benefits to Koi.
Today, I received a 1.5 Kilo bag of the stuff in the post, so i'm gonna have a shot at dosing it initially, and if it shows benefits, I may add it to my sump either as a bed, or as balls of the stuff.
Ill keep you posted.

[tommo]

I would recommend dosing in much smaller doses than recommended for koi, in the already lower oxygen environment of a marine system i would imagine that there would be some serious anoxic thingymabobbys going on should organic detritus get into the bed!

HTH

Tom

[lindsay]

Any developments on this?.Before i add it to the sps system .

[karnivor]

lindsay, on Aug 11 2009, 01:55 PM, said:

Any developments on this?.Before i add it to the sps system .

early days yet. My initial reaction is that it helps with water clarity and is not doing any harm at all. I am adding about 1/4 teaspoon twice a week and seeing how things go. Ive not had a need to turn my Ozone on since using it but as I say its early yet.

The mineral benefits are likely to be longer term and i'm watching closely. I am seeing benefits on my Shrimp tank and there is noticeable improvements in the vitality of both the shrimps and galaxy rasboras housed in it.

I'm still of the opinion that this stuff will work better as an additive, rather than a bed.
BTW, if you add some as a clay, in tiny lumps, your fish will eat it with relish. It supposed to be very good for them.

Heres another interesting link for you. I know its non reef related but it does give some useful info. My parrots are on it now as well.

http://junglebirdsea...y.blogspot.com/

[lindsay]

Half a teaspoon it is .

[pete1234]

karnivor, on Aug 11 2009, 02:05 PM, said:

Heres another interesting link for you. I know its non reef related but it does give some useful info. My parrots are on it now as well.

http://junglebirdsea...y.blogspot.com/

sounds like all of us should be eating it!

[lindsay]

Done,1tea spoon sps,half lps.

[tommo]

This has got me thinking about achilles tangs and the other various and difficult herbivores which live near highly volcanic hawaii?!?!?! dunno if anything similar forms around there????

Any geologists about?

[lindsay]

How often are you adding this tony?,going to put some in the fish system today.

[karnivor]

lindsay, on Aug 13 2009, 10:01 AM, said:

How often are you adding this tony?,going to put some in the fish system today.

About every 3 days ATM. I'm not sure what the right dosage should be really, but its a starting point. I was talking today to someone about it and he tells me it was commonly used in the early days of marine keeping. It was formed into a clay ball and placed into an external filter where it was allowed to slowly dissolve. a\pparently very effective in the days of very basic filter systems, as it kept all the nasties down.

Ive just bought a Achilles Tang and ive dosed the bucket with the stuff as a sort of tonic. It was a heavyish dose of about a 1/4 level teaspoon in about 1/6 of a bucket of water, which has been steadily diluted as ive added tank water. There was no distress from the fish whatsoever. He is now going to spend a day or three in the sump to settle down before putting him in the main display.

Fingers Xed

[lindsay]

Going to try it every 3 days too.