Do mag drive pumps, remove iron from the water...?

[davidstcldfl]

I was introducing myself at a gardening forum site. I menetioned I use aquaponics. A few of the members there were asking some questions and one of them was 'do we need to add anything to the ap water ?'
I mentioned one of the common things was iron.

One of the members mentioned, that mag drive pumps removed iron from the water.
I asked where he had heard/read that..?
He gave me a link to a hydroponic site.

I copied and pasted this....... It was in part of a discription about a product.....


Basically, in a re-circulating hydroponic system, water passes by a magnetically driven pump multiple times throughout a day. The magnetic drive (or mag drive) can remove elements such as iron, magnesium, and different elements like that. So, House and Garden increased these levels.

So, what does everyone think of that...?
I just always thought that the plants used it up. We know magnets atract iron, so it kind of makes sense.
I had never heard this mentioned before, here at DIY, or any of the other AP forums....?

[keith_r]

i'd like to see results of a real study... the only anecdotal evidence i have is a aquaculture guy with lots of iron in his well water (water was "rusty) - lot's of aeration and flow clears it to some extent..
i didn't think chelated iron was magnetic, but this excerpt suggests otherwise (but temp is important)
http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1 ... 36#preview
i've found quite a bit of references that chelated iron is used in mri's, but that could be for contrast.. (you're not supposed to have anything metallic on, in an mri)
i dunno..

[bbikebbs]

If it removes iron, what about any other minerals that are "magnetic" as well? I find it hard to believe that water soluble minerals will be removed in any great quantities. Also, if they are removed, where are they? They should build up on the housing somewhere and be visible. I would also like to see a peer reviewed study that shows it.

[bsfman]

Chelated iron is present in water in ionic form - not as elemental iron - and therefore should not be attracted magnetically.

[davidstcldfl]

I'm kind of leaning towards ...'sales pitch' on the product discription with the mag drive thing.

...I just had a thought...(just finished my 1st cup of morning coffee)
I need to find a magnet...then when I'm at the farm the next time...I'll stick it in the bag of chealted iron and see if any sticks...

[urbanfarmer]

Naturally occurring iron readily precipitates out of the solution in aquaponic systems. As already stated, most of us use iron that is "held" in the water solution by a chelate or ligand... which is just a fancy word for something that keeps the iron molecule soluble and prevents the iron from reacting with other "stuff" in the solution. This is one of the main reasons why putting iron nails or whatever to rust in your system does not add adequate iron, if any, that is bioavailable.

Gel electrophoresis is a method where eletromagnetic fields are used to move DNA molecules through gel. So, we can assume such a field could interact with iron molecules and other compounds.

I'm not sure if the effect of an eletromagnetic field would do what you are saying, but eletromagnetic fields seem to effect the solubility of iron as well: http://www.op.titech.ac.jp/matgcoe/j/ne ... o%20rv.pdf

Food for thought. Interesting topic.

[keith_r]

you'll find more iron with your magnet in a small bowl of bran flakes

[davidstcldfl]

you'll find more iron with your magnet in a small bowl of bran flakes