Aquaponics

[Yugica]

Been there, fren. Check to see if you have any building supply places in town.

Looking it up, there is a store outside of my town and probably like 30 minute drive. Also since you're versed in all of this, do you know if there's any good places to find roman concrete equivalents? From what I remember some people were using things like pottery shards and I do think I also remember it using calcium-aluminosilicates as opposed to the calcium+silicon based clinker for what the Romans used. I know that it cures over a longer time, but if it is materially stronger then that'd be ideal -- its better curing in seawater would also be a boon for aquarium use.

 

[Free4Ever]

calcium-aluminosilicates

I'd want to test what that leeches into the water... maybe there'd be a way to treat it if it lets off anything non-drinkable, like storing some particular acid or other liquid in it during curing.

 

[Absurdist Laughter]

I'd want to test what that leeches into the water... maybe there'd be a way to treat it if it lets off anything non-drinkable, like storing some particular acid or other liquid in it during curing.

Completely different molecule to the element of Aluminum, please don't mistake the two simply because they share a common Latin entymology. Calcium -aluminosilicate is just a fancy way of naming a glass; like borosilicate. It's just a molecule of calcium tied with aluminum and silicate and a common ingredient in all concrete. Water reservoirs, etc. all use it.

---

The only reason I know this is I too became worried about using aluminum pans and containers for tray cultivation of mushrooms were the organism that produces the fruit is directly in contact with elemental aluminum. The amount leached into the edible fruit body was negligible and far below acceptable standards of consumption. From the studies I've read, meats cooked wrapped in aluminum may actually produce a worrying amount of aluminum leaching, for younger children, then my mushroom grown in an aluminum pan.

TLDR: There are things to worry about and others that are next to pseudoscience.

 

[Free4Ever]

Completely different molecule to the element of Aluminum...
... I too became worried about using aluminum pans and containers for tray cultivation of mushrooms were the organism that produces the fruit is directly in contact with elemental aluminum...
... acceptable standards of consumption...

TLDR: There are things to worry about and others that are next to pseudoscience.

"You shouldn't wash your hands because I eat shit for fun."
Anyway...

I'd sure be interested to know how much, if any, aluminum leeches out of concretes that contain aluminum compounds!
It'd be, like, totally, a scientific experiment.

 

[Absurdist Laughter]

"You shouldn't wash your hands because I eat shit for fun."
Anyway...

I'd sure be interested to know how much, if any, aluminum leeches out of concretes that contain aluminum compounds!
It'd be, like, totally, a scientific experiment.

You entirely missed the main point, before I turned to specific Calcium Aluminous Silicate is not the same as Aluminum. Nice for showing your pseudo scientific hands, I will hand wash ya from the mind. Do it yourself if you're really curious.

 

[MightyMorphin'Willbender]

is it feasible to grow actually edible fish/shrimp in some small aquaponic aquarium setup for herbs, something like up to 10 plants tops?

 

[Free4Ever]

You entirely missed the main point, before I turned to specific Calcium Aluminous Silicate is not the same as Aluminum. Nice for showing your pseudo scientific hands, I will hand wash ya from the mind. Do it yourself if you're really curious.

Right... because the existence of food-safe glassware of an aluminum compound proves that porous concrete containing aluminum compounds is food-safe... and because you grow mushrooms in straight aluminum metal that means it's ScienceTM to do so... genius-level SQ (Science Quotient) here.

 

[Yugica]

I'd want to test what that leeches into the water... maybe there'd be a way to treat it if it lets off anything non-drinkable, like storing some particular acid or other liquid in it during curing.

From my understanding the chemical reactions for the curing of Roman concrete make a bunch of different minerals that are already naturally present. There are also tons of Roman aqueducts that were made with Roman concrete and were used for centuries and centuries after the fall of the Western portion of the empire. Most of the issues from what I understand with any of those structures largely seemed to come from the use of lead. There are also still Roman concrete foundations and such in several coastal regions of Italy and the wildlife there seemed unaffected.

I guess it wouldn't hurt to try and let it soak in some water to see what ions come out, but I imagine it'd be things that are already pretty present in water like silicic acid(which also plays a role in the chemical curing of Roman concrete). For silicic acid too its solubility is terrible and it seems to pose no real risk to people, it's also used by various plants and algae, namely diatoms love to use it for their glass shells. Also glass sponges make use of it too iirc. The risk of specifically silicic acid in water though is probably not an issue unless you specifically try to concentrate it as its been present throughout the entire history of life and life has been in regular contact with it.

The calcium and aluminum seem to react to form the same kind of compounds that forms "Hydroglossular" or "Hydrogarnet" and there don't seem to be any issues with that mineral or the gemstone as far as health is concerned.

The real issue is probably while it's curing as you need to use slaked lime(Calcium hydroxide) which is very caustic and it could likely also damage any glass or metals you're trying to cure this all in. There's probably a risk of weird chemistry with whatever container you might try to cure Roman concrete in that I'm totally unaware of that could be toxic or dangerous. Stainless steel for example has Chromium in it and Chromium in the wrong oxidative state is a kind of heavy metal and is extremely toxic.

 

[Yugica]

is it feasible to grow actually edible fish/shrimp in some small aquaponic aquarium setup for herbs, something like up to 10 plants tops?

Depends on how small you're talking about and how small the fish/shrimp you're willing to eat. For like 10 herbs you'd maybe use something like a 100 gallon tank, right? You could definitely have a few tilapia in that if you wanted to go with them. You may be able to grow some asian clams in an aquarium like that. I'm unsure of what would be a good food stock to feed them. You could probably do flour in small amounts or you could just go for culturing infusoria which a lot of fish breeders culture to feed fish fry. In nature that is what clams and so on would be eating, alongside small zooplankton as far as I'm aware.