Aluminum Gutters....Any issues?

[AOD2012]

Hey everybody. On friday I am switching my room over to vertical, and just wanted to ask a question. I wll be doing a stadium=1 gallon pots of coco top-fed dtw. I am going to line the shelves with gutters to direct runoff. Will I have any issues with aluminum gutters and any like mixing of run-off water and the plants absorbing anything from the metal?

Appreciate any input.


aod

 

[Derka]

I am honestly not sure, other then a knee jerk response of its a bad idea.

vinyl/pvc gutters are quite cheap, typically cheaper by the meter then aluminium, and a lot easier to cut.

Thats my take on it.

 

[Scrappy-doo]

I am very curious about this also.

I bought some aluminum baking plates to use as drip trays with the hand watering coco method because they were really cheap. They will be bottom feeding some. My first worry was whether or not aluminum will leech out into the solution.

 

[seebobski]

I have a thought...
get 0 ppm water or low ppm and know what it is at.
Cover and let it sit over night in the metal.
check ppm next day if a change in ppm is there.
The metal is leaching.
if you have the time continue a day,week,month.... to be sure

 

[rick shaw]

I'm with Derka,go vinyl.I've seen a stadium built with gutters,I was impressed.

 

[Derka]

I have a thought...
get 0 ppm water or low ppm and know what it is at.
Cover and let it sit over night in the metal.
check ppm next day if a change in ppm is there.
The metal is leaching.
if you have the time continue a day,week,month.... to be sure

Leaching is one concern of course. My thought process goes more towards what happens when a high salt content solution is present. I suspect that oxidization will occur rather rapidly, and that this would cause nutrients present to bind up or at the very least cause a serious amount of salt creep.

 

[AOD2012]

thanks errybody. went with that corrugate roofing instead. i can cut it exactly to the length i need, and it is plastic, so no worries. thanks a lot.



aod

 

[Ny2CaFuse]

AOD2012, the only thing I would worry about with the plastic roofing is off-gassing. I could be a paranoid android, though.

 

[AOD2012]

ahhh fuck i forgot about that one, its PVC, that offgasses correct?


aod

 

[Maj.Cottonmouth]

Sniff it, if I can't smell a plastic or chemical odor coming off of it I assume it is ok to use.

 

[Ny2CaFuse]

Cottonmouth, is that a reliable indicator of off-gassing, in your opinion? It would be awesome if it was.

 

[Maj.Cottonmouth]

I feel that it is, I have a sensitive nose for plastic smells so it seems to work for me. I bought a res that I did not use because I could smell it off gassing. I also run my systems with water and bleach before I use them for plants to help remove any initial crap that may leech out.

 

[Cutty]

Aluminium is highly reactive, with only three electrons in it's outer shell. It WANTS to bond.

Most aluminium we encounter has a layer of oxidation on its surface that protects it, ie soda can, or foil.
However, if you were to submerse the aluminium into a highly ionic solution (nutes) it will begin reacting and will deteriorate.

Aluminium is used in fireworks (M-80) and a lot of chemical reactions due to its reactivity.

Keep aluminium out of the grow room, unless it is containing your beer as you survey the fruits of your labor.

 

[AOD2012]

Thanks a lot everybody for the input!



aod

 

[jammie]

hey aod- i've used rain water exclusively for the last 5 yrs in my 5 gal dwc buckets. i usually filter it through about 10 layers of cheesecloth. i use subculture b in my buckets to protect against any mold or bad bacteria. i find rain water to be alot more ph stable than tap and the ppm's are near zero.

 

[seebobski]

Cutty Aluminium is highly reactive, with only three electrons in it's outer shell. It WANTS to bond.

Most aluminium we encounter has a layer of oxidation on its surface that protects it, ie soda can, or foil.
However, if you were to submerse the aluminium into a highly ionic solution (nutes) it will begin reacting and will deteriorate.

Aluminium is used in fireworks (M-80) and a lot of chemical reactions due to its reactivity.

Keep aluminium out of the grow room, unless it is containing your beer as you survey the fruits of your labor.

That is a great point. Copper and aluminum can have the same effect.Take r.o. water; it will want to bond to something it has free ions that wants a partner. These metals are looking for a date too. The nutes will date water but will slut around with anything that has more of the right ions to bond.

 

[DnKNg5]

Aluminium is highly reactive, with only three electrons in it's outer shell. It WANTS to bond.

Most aluminium we encounter has a layer of oxidation on its surface that protects it, ie soda can, or foil.
However, if you were to submerse the aluminium into a highly ionic solution (nutes) it will begin reacting and will deteriorate.

Aluminium is used in fireworks (M-80) and a lot of chemical reactions due to its reactivity.

Keep aluminium out of the grow room, unless it is containing your beer as you survey the fruits of your labor.

Just came here to say that I think this answer is an illustration of what makes ICmag so great. Explanations down to the atomic level, now thats some knowledge I can absorb! Cutty!

 

[petemoss]

I bought a bag of Aluminum Sulfate to lower the pH in my soil outside. The instructions cautioned not to overdose because aluminum can be toxic to plants.

 

[Mugglesworth]

I used to work on a aluminum dive boat . The owners were always on us to pick up change on the deck . There was something about a oxidizing reaction between the the two metals I cant rember for the life of me what this is called.

 

[stonedar]

seems to work fine though, for all that. this is not my picture, just one of many I have seen using gutters.