Corals dying ICP test results

[Cory]

I am using Tropic Marin Pro Reef.

I can’t understand though how the fresh saltwater has large amounts of iron and manganese present yet the tank water didn’t have any.

Iron and maganese are used by photosynthesis so it gets removed quickly.

 

[Terry Mattson]

So today I was busy changing my hinges on my cabinet as they were a little bit rusty. I had to remove the sump as the lower hinge was inaccessible. This meant removing all the equipment and in the process, I found a faulty heater. I’d checked it before and thought it was ok, I either missed it the first time around or it wasn’t noticeable and it has developed. On one side, there is a 13cm run of tiny little holes all in a perfect line and on the other side it has a large hole with rust showing on the inside. I think it’s safe to say I have found the culprit.
On another note, having changed my RO filters and DI resin, I now have zero TDS.
I also sent a sample of fresh salt water to triton (before I found the heater) so it will be interesting to see what the results are with my previous high TDS RO water.

Oh my on that heater. I was on the fence about adding a ground probe to the tank. I decided to by one as stray voltage can be painful to corals and humans. Just need to install it. Seeing this heater failure motivates me to plug it in. Thanks,

 

[2una]

My question is, does anyone think that if the PVC is the culprit, is it possible that it could still be leaching tin 9 months after being installed?

Could the cuprisorb have released tin back into the water as it’s never been changed?

Would seem pretty suspect to be still leeching if that was the issue huh, i would have thought anyway.
You only have the gyres ? no ecotech wavemakers? those can be a common find for tin.

Return pump? some older jebao's had some bolts in them that rusted & also showed tin.
Most seem to find something looking rusty for their tin reason.
You dosing any all in one trace supplements at all?
The fuge light or what you mounting/hanging it with all clean looking?

 

[Seabed]

Iron and maganese are used by photosynthesis so it gets removed quickly.

I’ve read that recently too. Apparently A few salts regularly test high for those elements.

 

[Seabed]

Oh my on that heater. I was on the fence about adding a ground probe to the tank. I decided to by one as stray voltage can be painful to corals and humans. Just need to install it. Seeing this heater failure motivates me to plug it in. Thanks,

Yes, it’s really surprising. I’ve had my hand in the sump regularly with that faulty heater. Luckily I’ve never had a shock but it does make you think.

 

[Seabed]

Would seem pretty suspect to be still leeching if that was the issue huh, i would have thought anyway.
You only have the gyres ? no ecotech wavemakers? those can be a common find for tin.

Return pump? some older jebao's had some bolts in them that rusted & also showed tin.
Most seem to find something looking rusty for their tin reason.
You dosing any all in one trace supplements at all?
The fuge light or what you mounting/hanging it with all clean looking?

Just the gyres, no ecotech in their.
My return pump is a jebao/Jacob 6500. I gave it a really good inspection again at the weekend and I couldn’t see any rust anywhere. s it happens the pump has let me down a couple of times recently so I have ordered a replacement so I will be swapping it out shortly anyway.
The original fudge light wasn’t bad but did have a couple of little spots of rust on it. I replaced it with a brand new one a few months ago and it still looks like brand new.

I have been dosing Aqua Forrest components 123 for 18months which are cal,alk,mag but also have trace elements mixed in. I have stopped this completely 2 weeks ago to remove another possible source Even though it does seem unlikely.

 

[Terry Mattson]

Yes, it’s really surprising. I’ve had my hand in the sump regularly with that faulty heater. Luckily I’ve never had a shock but it does make you think.

Was reading a thread on using or not using gfi. That picture is an example of why gfi is always a good practice. Things happen. That is why gfi is in our bathrooms and kitchens. Saltwater conducts electricity many times easier. Long story but had a lightning striked a tree outside my house. Melted nearby sprinkler wires and solenoids back to the control box 250 feet .... Made it's way to the controller box in garage. Blew off cover about 40 feet and started a fire in garage control box. Made it's way into house wiring on that one circuit. Breaker blew in electrical box. And tripped the gfi on both my tanks and in my garage. The surge imbalance tripped gfi .... lost nothing in my tanks including equipment. Gfi will cut power with a few mv detected ...

 

[2una]

My return pump is a jebao/Jacob 6500

Maybe have a look here if its a DCS

Slow / Fast Tissue Necrosis help

glad to hear - can u take a pic of where your talking about if it becomes handy to do - i've also a jebao return The rust is coming from the screws holding the impeller housing.

www.reef2reef.com

 

[Seabed]

Maybe have a look here if its a DCS

Slow / Fast Tissue Necrosis help

glad to hear - can u take a pic of where your talking about if it becomes handy to do - i've also a jebao return The rust is coming from the screws holding the impeller housing.

www.reef2reef.com

Thanks for the link, mine is a DCP and it doesn’t have those screws. It’s a twist lock design.

 

[Seabed]

So I’ve inspected the fuge light again and there is actually a little bit of rust showing. This fudge light has only been fitted since November so hasn’t been in from the beginning of when my problems started in May.
Does anyone think this very light surface rust could really be responsible for my recent tin readings. It doesn’t seem severe enough to me to cause my recent rapid decline.

 

[2una]

i doubt it - so much water changed & still 11ug/l i would think it would be something more serious looking if the problem was a see-able one.
Magnet sift thru the substrate maybe worth a try?

 

[Seabed]

So I’ve inspected the fuge light again and there is actually a little bit of rust showing. This fudge light has only been fitted since November so hasn’t been in from the beginning of when my problems started in May.
Does anyone think this very light surface rust could really be responsible for my recent tin readings. It doesn’t seem severe enough to me to cause my recent rapid decline.

What paint would be recommended for touching up this light fixture that is showing a tiny amount of corrosion.

 

[Seabed]

What paint would be recommended for touching up this light fixture that is showing a tiny amount of corrosion.

Can I just use a Hammerite type paint? Or would a car spray paint be more suitable. I don’t want anything toxic to find it’s way into the sump.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

I dont really know what type of paint is best in an application like this.

 

[P-Dub]

I sincerely doubt that any rust dust is going to be an issue. I have massive amounts of rust dust dumping straight into the sump from a drawer track directly above. So much so, it accumulates on my protein skimmer and plumbing. This doesn't even address the volume of rust on the hinges in my canopy and stand. Photos below.

I think you are chasing a non-issue here. I don't perform ICP tests but the sheer volume of rust in my sump has had zero negative impact on any of my corals. Just my 2c.

 

[DenverSaltyFarm]

If I were you I would switch salt, you might be surprised. I was using fritz salt since day 1 on my tank and my corals never did great. About a year in my tank started crashing slowly. I performed an Icp test chased everywhere for an issue and found nothing. Luckily my local store was suffering the same problems with the same salt. They said they switched to reef crystals and everything recovered. I did the same thing and literally 24 hrs later my tank started to recover, it has been doing great ever since.

Bad batches of salt are near impossible to test for, you just have to go off what your corals tell you. I would highly suggest making a switch

 

[Seabed]

I sincerely doubt that any rust dust is going to be an issue. I have massive amounts of rust dust dumping straight into the sump from a drawer track directly above. So much so, it accumulates on my protein skimmer and plumbing. This doesn't even address the volume of rust on the hinges in my canopy and stand. Photos below.

I think you are chasing a non-issue here. I don't perform ICP tests but the sheer volume of rust in my sump has had zero negative impact on any of my corals. Just my 2c.

Wow, that really does show that you can get away with a lot of corrosion without it having an impact.
I don’t really believe that the small amount of rust on the light is causing my issues but as that was the only thing I can find in or around the tank, I thought it was probably worthwhile touching it up to stop it getting any worse.

 

[Seabed]

If I were you I would switch salt, you might be surprised. I was using fritz salt since day 1 on my tank and my corals never did great. About a year in my tank started crashing slowly. I performed an Icp test chased everywhere for an issue and found nothing. Luckily my local store was suffering the same problems with the same salt. They said they switched to reef crystals and everything recovered. I did the same thing and literally 24 hrs later my tank started to recover, it has been doing great ever since.

Bad batches of salt are near impossible to test for, you just have to go off what your corals tell you. I would highly suggest making a switch

Hi
I used to use Red Sea blue bucket and the tank was always great. After watching the BRSTV episodes on salt, I switched to Tropic Marine Pro reef, coincidently, this was around the time the tank started declining.
I chose Tropic Marine Pro Reef as it is regarded as the best salt by many users.
I have performed many water changes over recent months and I am now on my third 25kg bucket, all bought at different times from different suppliers.
I also performed an ICP test on the fresh salt from the first bucket and it didn’t show any of the elevated elements that was evident in my aquarium. Also a few months back, I did 2 huge 75% water changes on consecutive weekends, after this, the tank started showing some positive improvements. A plating monti started growing again and put on a centimetre of growth, and a dead acropora skeleton that hadn’t been removed started to grow some new tissue. This lasted 2-3 weeks and then everything in the tank started declining fast again, the few SPS that had survived died from RTN over a couple of days and a frogspawn LPS ejected all of its heads.
I am more than happy to take your advice and change to a different salt brand but do you still think it could be the cause.

 

[Dennis Cartier]

Keep an eye on those gyres. I have had one corrode it's magnets and burst right through it's plastic motor housing. I attribute it to using vinegar to clean it several times. I no longer use vinegar to clean these as I have heard that vinegar can penetrate some types of plastic and corrode magnets from the inside. In my case, the gyre worked right up until I pulled it out to look at the odd 'coralline' growth on it and discovered it was a ridge of rust on the motor housing.

Dennis

 

[Seabed]

Keep an eye on those gyres. I have had one corrode it's magnets and burst right through it's plastic motor housing. I attribute it to using vinegar to clean it several times. I no longer use vinegar to clean these as I have heard that vinegar can penetrate some types of plastic and corrode magnets from the inside. In my case, the gyre worked right up until I pulled it out to look at the odd 'coralline' growth on it and discovered it was a ridge of rust on the motor housing.

Dennis

That’s interesting, I’ve not heard of vinegar penetrating plastic before. I thoroughly checked the gyres recently and everything looked ok but I’ll keep a close eye on them.