Aluminium and Tin

[Ishy]

Hi guys, just had the ICP tests back for our two tanks and both have elevated levels of aluminium and one has really high levels of tin. Looking for ideas on how to get rid of this, will carbon or polyfilter work or is it a case of lots of water changes?
Thank's Ishy.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

What are the values?

 

[Ishy]

Hi Randy.
Thanks for the response please see attached PDF with values. We don't keep corals just fish and nems, everything looks healthy except the nems in the small tank with high tin which are not thriving as they should be.
Last night we checked the whole system over and there are no hose clamps or anything else metal in or near the tank apart from a Schego titanium heater which does have a tiy amount of green seepage around the seal, as a temporary measure we have raised this part just clear of the water.
Ishy

 

[DixieReefer]

The numbers actually all look great except for the aluminum. I would definitely recommend replacing that heater though. Seepage=problem=failure=$$$.
Don't take the risk.

 

[andrew james]

I also have elevated tin and aluminium. Ive tried all sorts of things. Ive replaced equipment, changed bailing method, tried different salts and a bunch of other things and still have it. Im not just chasing numbers Ive also had seemingly random and unexplainable rtn/stn over the past year. I considered many factors including pests, parameters, lighting etc... the only thing left I can think of to eliminate was the sn and ai. Since im baffled by the source I finally decided to run a permanent reactor with Cuprisorb. It has made a big difference in my numbers as well as my tanks overall health. Everything looks better and Im no longer losing random corals.

 

[Ishy]

I also have elevated tin and aluminium. Ive tried all sorts of things. Ive replaced equipment, changed bailing method, tried different salts and a bunch of other things and still have it. Im not just chasing numbers Ive also had seemingly random and unexplainable rtn/stn over the past year. I considered many factors including pests, parameters, lighting etc... the only thing left I can think of to eliminate was the sn and ai. Since im baffled by the source I finally decided to run a permanent reactor with Cuprisorb. It has made a big difference in my numbers as well as my tanks overall health. Everything looks better and Im no longer losing random corals.

Does cuprisorb remove tin? We have put some Metsorb in which I think will remove the aluminium but not so sure about the tin.

 

[andrew james]

Does cuprisorb remove tin? We have put some Metsorb in which I think will remove the aluminium but not so sure about the tin.

I cannot say for sure or how much but my sn levels have gone down since ive had the reactor online.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Do you use any white media, such as phosguard? That can be a source of aluminum.

 

[Ishy]

Do you use any white media, such as phosguard? That can be a source of aluminum.

We did have phosguard in the 525, not in the 250 but that has now been removed since. Both tanks use Purigen, siporax and Brightwell aquatics NO3 brick. Its the high tin in the 250 that's really puzzling me.

 

[Cory]

Metasorb will remove

MetaSorb binds the following metals only:
Aluminum, Cadmium, Cerium, Cobalt, Copper, Dysprosium, Erbium, Europium, Gadolinium, Gold, Holmium, Iron, Lanthanum, Lead, Lutetium, Manganese, Mercury, Neodymium, Nickel, Samarium, Scandium, Selenium, Silver, Terbium, Ytterbium, and Zinc.

 

[Ukreefer]

Having the same issues with really high Tin levels and just cannot keep Acro's alive, the tin is the only explanation I can come up with. Was keeping Acro's alive 25 years ago but just cant keep them alive in my return to the hobby. Done numerous amounts of water changes but the levels just seem to creep up again causing RTN/STN in Acropora

 

[clownsrcool]

Are you using anything like marine pure or siporax bio media?

 

[Ukreefer]

Removed most my siporax but still have a tiny bit remaining

 

[clownsrcool]

I use siporax as well and am wondering if all of these biological media choices are what's introducing our heavy metals into our tanks. I know I have seen reports of marine pure doing it with Aluminum I think it was.

I don't have any Tin showing up in my tank but Lithium is one that I do have and one of the possible sources they list are "man made rock/reef ceramics" this sounds like a siporax type product. I also have some Aluminim in my water which I am sure is probably coming from the siporax.

I ordered some Triton Detox which should come in today to help me strip all of those unwanted metals from my water.

May I ask what salt you use by chance?

 

[jason2459]

What in the siporax would cause Al increase at any significant level?

Lithium is common in many salts and have seen some tanks with vert high lithium levels with no noticable ill effects.

Tin could be from many metals touching, getting moisture on, or in the tank. I'm also thinking I've head from pvc. But I'm not sure what level one needs to be concerned about. I had some tin go up slightly and back down last year with out issue. I still don't know what the source was or if it was really an accurate reading.

I wouldn't put to much weight on a single ICP-OES test especially for the minor and trace elements where results won't be very accurate and best to track out over time.

 

[Ishy]

So does Triton Detox remove tin?

 

[andrew james]

I just got a new Triton result back and I'm so happy to say that I've solved my tin problem. Im still not sure of the cause but my test in April showed 11ug/l of sn. I decided to add 1/2 cup of cuprisorb into my GAC reactor and run the ouput through a filter sock since cuprisorb is so small. The test I got back today shows sn at 0. Everything else is spot on. I plan to have the Cuprisorb be a permanent addition to my GAC reactor.