I am starting to think that leonardite or a similar granular humate may make up a major portion of Aquasoil. Let's compare descriptions.

Aqua Soil-

http://www.adana.co.jp/asoil_e.htm
ADA Aqua Soil Amazonia

-Made from specially processed natural material from the earth.
-Amazonia’s active ingredient, humus acid.
-reduces pH
-reduces hardness
- the humus [humic] acid, promoting water plant growth has easily-soluble character, and the water could turn yellow, if the water is alkaline.
-light weight
-doesn't scratch glass or acrylic




Granular Humate

Earthgreen Products Inc.
Huminova
What is Humate?

-Natural organic material mined from the ground
-made up of
1) humins- black, not soluble,
2) humic acids- brown or grey, soluble at high pH (alkaline conditions),
3) fulvic acids - yellow soluble at all pH conditions
-reduces soil pH
- chelates Calcium and Magnesium
-low mineral hardness (soft), won't scratch




The color and weight of Aquasoil seem like a perfect match to the sample of different granular humates that I have seen, as would the high cation exchange capacity. The yellow water tinge at high pH and leaching of ammonium seen with aquasoil would also be consistent with a granular humate.

I'm guess that ADA has processed the granular humate to remove the most soluble fractions, either through treatment with a basic solution such as potassium hydroxide, or with KCl solution to remove exchangeable acids and replace them with potassium on the surface exchange sites.

If anyone would like to try a test (since I don't currently have access to Aquasoil Amazonia),

- Make a high pH solution by dissolving garden lime (I guess baking soda would work) try to get the pH above 10. Add some aquasoil , mix, and allow to sit for several hours. Do humic acids start leaching into the solution and turn it brown?