Probably not. If it was in the water column it would slowly oxidise to ferric (hydr) oxides ("Rust").You know, let us say a 50 pence piece size of iron ore, would that slowly release iron to the tank?
If it was buried in the substrate, in anaerobic conditions, it wouldn't rust, but mainly it wouldn't become ions either.Rust consists of hydrous iron(III) oxides (Fe2O3·nH2O) and iron(III) oxide-hydroxide (FeO(OH), Fe(OH)3), and is typically associated with the corrosion of refined iron.
Thus the Iron nail thing is an Urban Myth thing, probably derived from the gardening hobby... But aquatic gardening indoor is something entirely different.
This is not true. It would only be true if the nail were made of stainless steel.Probably not. If it was in the water column it would slowly oxidise to ferric (hydr) oxides ("Rust").
So anecdotally at least it seemed to work for me.
Old iron nails will rust and as Tim's reference indicates plants harbor and develop certain microbes that convert the ferric oxide to ferrous, which is more bioavailable.
Add some broken clay pots to your substrate for extra drainage 😉😅I had heard of this rusty nail thingy but because of all the marketing products we have today reads a bit like what we once described as an "old wives tale "bit like tellin a 18 yr old about home made nettle beer or tea😄
<"I agree">, the issue for me is that I'm using the <"Duckweed Index"> as an indication of nutrient level and deficiency and what happens in the sediment only becomes relevant if those iron ions (Fe++/Fe+++) are subsequently available in the water column. It needs to be a plant with the <"aerial advantage"> for the Duckweed Index to exclude CO2 availability.This is an aerobic process and the plants send oxygen down to the roots which gets released into the sediment to help these and other microbes grow. In fact, if you examine laterite clay, which was so popular with hobbyists years ago, you will see that is contains predominantly ferric iron. Plants have no trouble dealing with ferric iron. It just takes a little longer.
Hi Marcel,OK! Thank you then I obviously was remembering some rather obsolete old papers that stated that iron oxide is useless for plants and that it only could be biologically converted by anaerobic microbes.
I know some gardeners claim to put rusty nails at the roots of some plant sp. to make them grow a different colored flower.
And I know that this isn't always the case and thought referring to that obsolete paper i did read once. it might be the type of soil and its density making it fail or succeed.
Good to know that I can forget about it...
Fair point Darrel. Yes, rusty nails buried in the substrate wouldn't help non-rooted plants.<"I agree">, the issue for me is that I'm using the <"Duckweed Index"> as an indication of nutrient level and deficiency and what happens in the sediment only becomes relevant if those iron ions (Fe++/Fe+++) are subsequently available in the water column. It needs to be a plant with the <"aerial advantage"> for the Duckweed Index to exclude CO2 availability.
I remember as a kid finding an old pocketbook with technical data from the early 1960s while exploring grandpa's attic and I noticed it had the distance of a Lightyear wrong as we know it today. I believe this kept changing over the centuries a few times till we settled on a fixed number somewhere in the 1980s.Yes this is a problem in The Matrix. We often cannot tell what is real and what is an illusion.
Haha, the fixed constant, another dogmatic assumption that inhibits further enquiry. Sort of the subject of my favorite "banned" Ted Lecture...I noticed it had the distance of a Lightyear wrong as we know it today. I believe this kept changing over the centuries a few times till we settled on a fixed number somewhere in the 1980s.
Haha, the fixed constant, another dogmatic assumption that inhibits further enquiry. Sort of the subject of my favorite "banned" Ted Lecture...
My son's religious education teacher enjoys a lively debate and they discuss all sorts in her lesson.