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Advancing Eco Agriculture, Product Science

FatherEarth

Active member
Veteran
Has anyone been electrocuted by sea crop? I just received a fresh gallon, and when I went to tear off the seal, I got a fairly strong jolt. I thought I must have stepped on or brushed up against something, so I moved, wearing rubber soled flip flops, and again I was electrocuted when I touched the lid. After that the charge was gone and I didn't receive anymore jolts. This was stronger than your typical static electricity.

Anyway, just wondering if anyone has had a similar experience.

for reals?
 

bobblehead

Active member
Veteran
for reals?

No bullshit. If it has an EC of 5 like milky said then I can see it possibly holding a charge or at least conducting one. Idk how else to explain it. Brand new gallon, I was wearing rubber soled flip flops on the concrete floor, and when I touched the opening on the bottle I was shocked 2x. The first was a strong jolt too. I get shocked all the time at work and it's not nearly as strong as the jolt I got from sea crop. I only posted about it because I thought it was super odd.

On another note I'm drinking 1mL a day of sea crop and I feel pretty good.
 

bobblehead

Active member
Veteran
if you're consuming it you should consider their food grade product

http://liquid-chi.com/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=1&products_id=1

Can you tell me more about this lineup? B/c all I read was a bunch of hippy dippy bullshit... lol. How is liquid-chi different from sea crop? Other than the price of $45 for 8oz, which is supposed to last 1 month. Yikes. I used to buy all sorts of different nutritional supplements. Now I just want the ones that work.

Looks like I should be drinking closer to 3mL....

Can Sea-Crop be used for animals?

Yes,*SEA-CROP*has been approved as meeting the FDA requirements for use as a mineral supplement in animal nutrition. The recommended rate is .04 milliliters per kilogram of body weight per day added to the drinking water


No FDA approval on the "food grade" lineup.
 
C

c-ray

sea-crop and liquid chi products are made by the same folks, the north american sea crop that is.. if you want an answer to your question you should talk to Arthur
 

milkyjoe

Senior Member
Veteran
Diatom chitin sounds freakin awesome. Do you know if this makes a silica chain similar to a carbon chain C-Ray?
 
You want amorphous...not crystalline...silica.

What is the advantage of Precipitated silica over quartz (silica sand) or a Silicon dioxide powder? In reading the red lake SDS under hazardous the column is -
Naturally Occurring Diatomaceous Earth
(Typical Analysis = 67% Silicon Dioxide)

this makes me think they are using chemical compound that is an oxide of silicon, chemical formula SiO2.

The column below shows the 1% quartz, I'm not sure the SDS clearly states it is Amorphous silica, but early in the sheet it mentions the term in "other names" which comes across ambiguously.

I realize usage of the term Diatomaceous earth denotes Diatomite which forms by the accumulation of the amorphous silica (opal, SiO2·nH2O), but when the selling point becomes a hook things get suspect. Although most retailers dealing in food grade Diatomaceous earth use the 67 - 85% amorphous silica tag as a selling tool I still wonder how many are using siliceous sedimentary rock or the compound.
 
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milkyjoe

Senior Member
Veteran
The diatoms are composed of amorphous (non crystalline) SiO2...naturally occuring.

For certain purposes, like floor sweep, the diatoms are calcined...heated to the point where the chemically attached water burns off. This temperature creates a phase shift to crystalline SiO2...which you want if you don't want the silica to be reactive...you don't want floor sweep breaking down into a pile of mush.

However, when you eat diatoms or use them in soil you want them to be reactive. You want the microbes to be able to separate the Si from the O. That allows the Si to be taken up by the plant or animal. An animal could eat SiO2 in crystalline form but it would pass through without being broken down.

Diatoms are not 100% SiO2...that entropy thing. That is the 1% mentioned.

The 67% is mfgs choice. They also add 33% clay in with the diatoms. That is for the animals...go to mark's daily apple and search dirt eating for an explanation if you are curious.

Hope that was helpful
 

milkyjoe

Senior Member
Veteran
Sand would also be mostly sio2...but formed with heat in natural processes. That heat was enough to crystallize it.

The silica you want to avoid breathing is the crystal form called beta crystoballite. Those crystals are needle shaped...similar to an asbestos crystal. The shape is the problem. This crystal is formed at ver high temp and is even less reactive than sand...your lungs have no chance of breaking it down.

Edit...precipitated does not rely on heat...just a whole lot of time. That is what allows the diatoms to be amorphous
 

milkyjoe

Senior Member
Veteran
It is kinda the same theory behind sea shield. Enzymes are used in a cold process to begin the breakdown of the crustacean shells. This allows the product to be much more reactive making it quickly available to the plant

Also the theory behind micronizing non soluble materials. It does not make them soluble per se but it does make them more reactive...easier for the microbes to break down
 
I agree that amorphous silica in verified diatomaceous earth is safest. I mentioned precipitated silica because of its solubility micronized. Most oven dried DE is upwards 90% silica and I suppose my apprehension regarding it is the consistency mirroring pumice. It really does break down easily, compaction is my concern whereas quartz or grit, granite etc. seems a reasonable solution. True, silica is more soluble than quartz, but I've been debating between DE and quartz in containers as a component for the lowest sediment layer. The trade-off of 3-4 times more solubility vs. compaction is what I am trying to figure out. I suppose there is also a $16 price for 2.5 lb micronized food grade DE to consider as well.
 

milkyjoe

Senior Member
Veteran
If you are using it for drainage hard rock is the way to go. I like basalt myself...breaks down eventually but provides minerals. 1/4 inch.

I use de to provide silica
 
I bought some of this, https://www.kelp4less.com/shop/trichoderma-inoculant-powder/

Ive always used inoculants with trichoderma, despite the argument that it feeds on the glomus varieties.
Mycogrow soluble from fungi.com is my main inoculant. I like tainio but Im partial to paul stamets when it comes to fungi.

I like to separate them in their appropriate environment first before introducing them to one another. Rincon Vitova Insectaries offers beneficial inoculents in segregate form. Not intended to distract from the fabulous Fungi Perfecti or wondrous Kelp4less because I appreciate them both.
 

FatherEarth

Active member
Veteran
I like to separate them in their appropriate environment first before introducing them to one another. Rincon Vitova Insectaries offers beneficial inoculents in segregate form. Not intended to distract from the fabulous Fungi Perfecti or wondrous Kelp4less because I appreciate them both.

lol they are nice products, but I dont work for them...:laughing:

Thanks for sharing your source, looks like a good one. Much appreciated.

http://rinconvitova.com/

http://rinconvitova.com/CATALOG 2009 screen.pdf

FE
 

milkyjoe

Senior Member
Veteran
I was talking with build a soil yesterday. Jeremy mentioned over time with the coot mix he is seeing low nh4 levels in the soil but no3 "off the charts". He speculates neem meal may be the culprit.

But I got to thinking...ok I got high...what if we use so much perlite we get so much O2 in the soil we start oxidizing things? Does it have a similar effect to tillage? Are we also burning carbon off?

Anyone else experienced this...or better yet measured it?
 

Backyard Farmer

Active member
Veteran
Neem meal isn't the ultimate amendment some hippies want you to think it is. In small quantities it's great but you can't depend on all neem
 
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