Chelated Iron or Iron Chelate?

orpmoc

Just been down to the local B to try and get some chelated iron but it seems that this product has been deleted from there stores and they now only stock iron chelate.

Is this the same? Is this product also safe to use in aquaponics? Are there any other possible ingredients that might be detrimental to fish? :dontknow:

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File comment: Iron Chelate at B.

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Mr Damage

Same same... It's all EDTA Iron.... the big 'B' probably just make more mark-up the Manutec brand than they do on the Yates.

Unless the analysis on the box says any different then it should just be chelated Iron.

Charlie

Yea same same.

Chelated refers to the binding of mettalic ion with other chemicals that form a soluble metallic compound that can taken up by the plant.

Its simply a powdered, soluble form of iron.

I did read somewhere that the chelated iron is just rebadged as iron chelate... but Im not sure.

The EDTA you see stamped at the top of the box is the chelating compound :- Ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid.

Mr Damage

Quote:

aaarr beat me to it DrD

...

mattyoga

so is the edta ok for fish?

mattyoga

Can anyone confirm if this manutec product is fish safe?

Cheers
Matt

orpmoc

From the info I was given above I have happily been using it.

mattyoga

OK thanks.

Loser

What is the rate in grams per 1000 litres of water that people use for the Iron Chelate as pictured?

Just bought some and hoping to keep leaves from going yellow as they are starting to at the moment.

Thanks

Mr Damage

The product pictured, Manutec Iron Chelate, and the other Chelated Iron the big 'B' store sells, Yates iron Chelate, are both EDTA Iron, which is only effective up to a pH of about 6.5, the higher your pH is above that the less available that product is, and is apparently completely unavailable at 7.0

DTPA is another form of chelated Iron that is available and suitable for use in aquaponics, but it is also somewhat limited in regards to it's availability to the plants. It's okay up to a pH of 7.0, but again, the higher your pH is above that, the less available it becomes, and is apparently completely unavailable at a pH of 7.5

EDDHA is the preferred Iron chelate for most aquaponics users, especially those who have Iron lock-out due to high water pH. It is available across a very wide pH range. It varies depending on which manufacturer you get the info from, but the overall consensus seems to be from a pH of 3.0 right through to a pH of 11.0... well outside the survivable pH range of any plants.

The dosages and need for "maintenance levels" of Iron in the system are well and truly overstated on forums etc. Issues with high pH locking out Iron aside, I know of people with systems that are years old and have never had Iron added to them. It depends on the balance of your system, ie: What sort of fish, how many, what you're feeding them, and what sort of plants, how many, their size etc.

Just as an example, I have a single IBC display system that went about 2.5 years before I had to add Iron, and that was only because of a chilli plant that was going nuts and had about 200+ chillies on it. I added the equivalent of around 1/8th of a teaspoon of Iron to 500L of water (or 1/4 level teaspoon per 1000L) and the Iron Chlorosis was reversed within 3-4 days. The system then went about another 12 months before I had to add Iron again for a second time, again because it was heavily planted. I added the same amount and saw the exact same result.

For the last couple of years I've been adding literally a "pinch" of chelated Iron to the system about every 6-8 weeks. That's only because I bag up both EDDHA and DTPA Iron every 6-8 weeks or so, and when I'm finished bagging I sweep off the bench with my hand and add dust off the tiny amount of spillage into the IBC system. It would literally be no more than a decent pinch into 500L of water, the plants are always extremely healthy and the Iron content in the water doesn't even register in an Iron test kit.

I wouldn't bother trying figure out grams per litre, it's unnecessary and you'll do your head in. I simply recommend customers add a maximum of a 1/2 level teaspoon per 1000L (use proper measuring spoons, especially with EDDHA) every 6-8 weeks for a well balanced system. If the system is heavily planted with fruiting plants or a lot of Iron hungry large leafy greens, such as spinach etc, then maybe every 4-6 weeks. You can over-do-it with Iron, but if you under-do-it the worst that will happen is you will start to see some Iron deficiency, which is very easily diagnosed (probably the easiest of all deficiencies to diagnose) and very easily and quickly reversed within about 3-4 days with the addition of some Iron chelate.

Loser

Thanks for that. Very comprehensive!

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