Aluminum leach into res?

Dr.StickyFingers

Dr.StickyFingers

Well-Known Member
I'm asking becausing im building a res chiller for a new aeroponic setup im working on
the nute solution will pass through an aluminum radiator to be chilled and then recirculated back .

Does aluminum leach into water or react with the nutes to harm my plants in any way?

sadly I cant find any stainless steel radiator piece.
 
Dogenzengi

Dogenzengi

Well-Known Member
If you create the coil you could use the cold coil in your resevoir.
Not sure about the metal being leached, I hope not.
bless,
DZ
 
mudballs

mudballs

Well-Known Member
i'd need to know more about how you plan on using it. is it like a car radiator and you'll be running solutions through the internal copper tubing? or just dunking the thing? need more info. there are potential reactions with both metals but it might not be a deal breaker.
 
bradburry

bradburry

Well-Known Member
Good question....i had a cheap 2 prong soil ph meter a with like 2 metal ends idk. But i put them in my res and they kinda dissolved abit into the res ? Idk.

they don't work anymore i think its an acidic reaction or something....good luck.
 
Dr.StickyFingers

Dr.StickyFingers

Well-Known Member
mudballs said:
i'd need to know more about how you plan on using it. is it like a car radiator and you'll be running solutions through the internal copper tubing? or just dunking the thing? need more info. there are potential reactions with both metals but it might not be a deal breaker.
Click to expand...
No actually the aluminum radiator is just a small box shape with 2 openings. It wont be in the water. A pump will suck up the soup from the res pump it through the radiator which is cooled by a thermoelectric cooling chip (used to water cool electronics and PCs) and the water will fall out the other end back into the res. So the aluminum radiator is cold only through contact with the incredibly cold surface of the chip
 
mudballs

mudballs

Well-Known Member
ok good idea but it does look to be detrimental, mostly in the flowering stage which is why i would say don't do it or find another radiator. my question was what would cause the aluminum to come off the block in the first place and at the temps normal in a res tank.theres mineral acids and organic acids. hydrochloric acid will do it no problem but the nutes wont make that.sodium hydroxide will do it slowly does the nutes make that? then i found what i wanted. nearly any acid in the right ph will start to dissolve the aluminum.does any nutes make the acids? the answer after all this is yes the nutes can begin to dissolve the aluminum and yes it can effect the uptake of phosphorus in the plants.find a copper tubed radiator and you should be fine or design a passive cooling system where nutes dont contact a metal. whew that was a lot of work.

references
1)http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1086314/
2)http://www.chemicalland21.com/industrialchem/inorganic/ALUMINUM OXIDE.htm
3)https://www.physicsforums.com/threads/chemically-dissolve-aluminum.105538/
4)a bunch more i dont want to link to.
 
Dr.StickyFingers

Dr.StickyFingers

Well-Known Member
mudballs said:
ok good idea but it does look to be detrimental, mostly in the flowering stage which is why i would say don't do it or find another radiator. my question was what would cause the aluminum to come off the block in the first place and at the temps normal in a res tank.theres mineral acids and organic acids. hydrochloric acid will do it no problem but the nutes wont make that.sodium hydroxide will do it slowly does the nutes make that? then i found what i wanted. nearly any acid in the right ph will start to dissolve the aluminum.does any nutes make the acids? the answer after all this is yes the nutes can begin to dissolve the aluminum and yes it can effect the uptake of phosphorus in the plants.find a copper tubed radiator and you should be fine or design a passive cooling system where nutes dont contact a metal. whew that was a lot of work.

references
1)http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1086314/
2)http://www.chemicalland21.com/industrialchem/inorganic/ALUMINUM OXIDE.htm
3)https://www.physicsforums.com/threads/chemically-dissolve-aluminum.105538/
4)a bunch more i dont want to link to.
Click to expand...
Thanks alot man I think I will look for stainless steel or separate the water coolant from the actual soup in the res
 
mudballs

mudballs

Well-Known Member
i have an option for you derived from geothermal heaters in houses. using a large coiling of poly tubing with a fan blowing over the coiling should do the trick with no adverse effect.like a moonshine distillery but using inert poly tubing, or chemical resistant tubing (google it) polyethylene is prefered over polypropylene tubing...maybe vinyl tubing. just ask if this doesn't make sense and ill try to clarify
 
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