Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Iron is an integral nutrient to make the plants healthy. In the absence of a source for chelated iron, I am thinking of doing the same as others who have used and are using nails or stell bars in the growbed or the finsh tank and letting it rust so water can take it to the plants.

But wouldn't this be dangerous to the farmer who may be working on the tank or the bed with a small cut or open wound.... threat of tetanus?

Please, can someone give me a comforting answer?


Thanks,

Yusuf

hmmm, dont know, but I am still alive

Letting nails etc rust in the tank... wont produce a "chelated" form of iron.... sorry, but it wont...

Hi Yusuf,
No panic required
You probably have a higher risk having a dirt garden.
Tetanus is caused by the anaerobic bacteria Clostridium Tetani.
This bacteria is all around us particularly in the very soil we walk on.

Here is a bit I lifted from Wikki

Infection generally occurs through wound contamination and often involves a deep cut or puncture wound.Tetanus is often associated with rust, especially rusty nails, but this concept is somewhat misleading. Objects that accumulate rust are often found outdoors, or in places that harbor anaerobic bacteria, but the rust itself does not cause tetanus nor does it contain more C. tetani bacteria. The rough surface of rusty metal merely provides a prime habitat for a C. tetani endospore to reside, and the nail affords a means to puncture skin and deliver endospore into the wound. An endospore is a non-metabolizing survival structure that begins to metabolize and cause infection once in an adequate environment. Because C. tetani is an anaerobic bacterium, it and its endospores survive well in an environment that lacks oxygen. Hence, stepping on a nail (rusty or not) may result in a tetanus infection, as the low-oxygen (anaerobic) environment is provided by the same object which causes a puncture wound, delivering bacteria to a suitable environment for growth.

So... To sum it up,
So long as you dont stab yourself deeply with a nail you should be fine.
Even if you do, a tetanus shot the same as if you were working in a dirt garden.
It would be nearly impossible to become infected without realizing you had been stabbed deep enough.

Happy Gardening!
Dicko