Remove suspended iron from bore water
Perth has become the latest city to feel the potential horror of severe water shortages. Restricted use for gardens and the probability of total sprinkler bans may well mean the end for many of the cities beautiful gardens.
Even so thousands of householders have private shallow bores sunk down into what is termed the "ground water" storage. This is usually only a few metres below the surface. Frequently however, this water is not suitable for drinking and leaves ugly brown stains when it dries on buildings or footpaths.
Often the problem is IRON not in solution but suspended in superfine particles in the water. As soon as the water comes into contact with the air it combines with oxygen to form iron oxide, better known to all of us as RUST.
The Arismac Bore Water Iron Extraction Unit removes suspended iron (Fe) from ground water bores, so preventing staining of buildings and paths. This then allows the use of micro-irrigation, eliminates bore water iron damage to plants, fish and gardens and allows ground bore water to be used in swimming pools.
HOW IT WORKS
The water enters the tank through three spa bath aerators mounted on the lid of the tank. The water is fully aerated and the suspended iron rapidly turns to rust. The rust then slowly falls to the bottom of the tank. Clean water is drawn from the upper of the two outlets. The sludge is drawn from the lower outlet when required, usually after about 5 - 10 refills depending on the amount of iron in the water.
The plumbing configuration permits the tank to be stirred and cleaned. Soluble plant nutriens may also be added and the tank stirred until the chemicals are disolved. This feature is very popular with hydroponic growers and gardeners using SUPA-GRO COMPLETE PLANT FOODS with drip "fertigation" systems.
The major items that are required, other than an operational bore, are a tank holding more than 20,000 litres and a 650watt electric pump or the equivalent petrol powered pump. The tank should have two outlets, one as near the bottom as possible and a second 250 - 300mm above the bottom. Other items are mainly plumbing supplies (25mm pvc; elbows; tee junctions; stop cocks; etc..) to suit your particular installation.
It will take approximately four hours to fill a 23,000 L tank from a three horse power (2,000 watt) bore pump through 25mm pressure pipe. The addition of a float switch will prevent overfills and electricity wastage. A 650watt swimming pool type pump with a pressure control switch is normally adequate to economically drive sprinkler and drip feed irrigation systems.
The settling tank must be filled at least 12 hours prior to use. Allow 20 hours if possible. This allows the Arismac Iron Separator to remove over 95% of the suspended iron in bore water. 23,000 L of treated water will last the average home and garden for up to two weeks.
We strongly recommend the use of micro irrigation and can demonstrate several methods of maximizing water usage efficiency. We are also able to demonstrate several methods of plant feeding which avoids wastage and ground environment pollution.
The stop-cock controls can be automated from a modified irrigation control unit. We do not recommend automating stopcocks 1,2,4 & 5 however as high concentrates of suspended iron in bore water can force frequent replacement of the solenoid diaphrams.
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STOPCOCK OPERATION 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Fill settling tank from bore On Off Off Off Off Off Off Water garden – use product water Off Off On Off Off On Off Stir sludge/sediment Off On Off On On Off Off Pump out sludge Off Off Off On On Off Off Add and stir chemical plant nutrients Off Off On Off Off Off On
