Elevated aluminum

[Matthias7]

I received the results of my triton test and it shows I have very elevated aluminum. I have marine pure blocks in my sump and I have read that other people have similiar results. The question is what do I do about the aluminum.

 

[geniusgio]

I received the results of my triton test and it shows I have very elevated aluminum. I have marine pure blocks in my sump and I have read that other people have similiar results. The question is what do I do about the aluminum.

Buy some poly filter , changes colors to indicate what it removed.

 

[Matthias7]

I used some polyfilter didn't turn red. Is that the only option?

 

[geniusgio]

Have you tried high quality carbon and or GFO ?

 

[geniusgio]

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/i...d-is-it-havent-any-ill-effect-on-your.182740/

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

I'm not convinced a polyfilter will really turn red with aluminum from seawater, despite the claim. Aluminum ion is always colorless.

How high is the aluminum?

Are soft corals, especially leathers, suffering (closed up)?

 

[Matthias7]

The aluminum value is 100ug/l. The only soft corals I have really are zoas and they are unaffected. I have a few sps that have rtn'd but my salinity was a bit low when that happened. I guess the question is there any reason to do anything at all?

 

[lolmatt]

I've heard marinepure can leech aluminum. Do you run any blocks/etc?

 

[Matthias7]

I've heard marinepure can leech aluminum. Do you run any blocks/etc?

Yes I have quite a bit of marine pure in the sump

 

[ATI Aquaristik]

double post

 

[ATI Aquaristik]

If you remove the source of your contamination aluminium will drop automatically. The solubility of Aluminium at 8 PH or higher is very limited. The Toxicity Of Aluminium at PH 8 or higher is also limited. Normally, the Level of Aluminium in your free Water will drop 50% after a couple of Weeks.

 

[lolmatt]

Iirc Ryan from brs pretty much confirmed that marinepure leaches al a few months ago in another thread. Try removing it and re test in a month. Then add it back and see if it comes back if you so desire. Because of this I went with another bio media...seachem matrix in my case. Shame because the flat blocks would have worked so well between my sump baffles.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

In my tests, problems with leather corals existed at 500 ug/L and not at 50 ug/L. So at 100 ug/L you are in a grey area in between.

I don't prefer any aluminum-containing media (like MarinePure) for this reason, but if you are not experiencing poor polyp extension on corals, it may not be at a problematic level in your tank and I might not do anything.

It appears that GFO can help reduce aluminum, if you are concerned.

 

[geniusgio]

Not sure how true it is , but from what I’ve read .. it’s been the “Chinese knock off’s” that contain aluminum. Not sure how true that is though.

 

[Matthias7]

If you remove the source of your contamination aluminium will drop automatically. The solubility of Aluminium at 8 PH or higher is very limited. The Toxicity Of Aluminium at PH 8 or higher is also limited. Normally, the Level of Aluminium in your free Water will drop 50% after a couple of Weeks.

I think I will remove some of it and replace it with dry rock. How soon after should I send my next Ati ICP test. 1 month long enough?

 

[lolmatt]

I would think a month is long enough especially if you run gfo during that time. You could see a spike in ammonia after removing the media so do so slowly and replace with rubble or other similar media...very happy with the matrix so far other than it being harder to clean. I can't think of any other common source of Al, so imo plan on the marinepure being the culprit and have a few ideas in mind for how to replace it if you prefer something other than rubble long term. Cheers!

 

[lolmatt]

Not sure how true it is , but from what I’ve read .. it’s been the “Chinese knock off’s” that contain aluminum. Not sure how true that is though.

The testing I saw in the other thread was the real deal, not a knockoff product. I'll see if I can find the thread tomorrow.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

One member tested them in this forum and found them to release aluminum. The manufacturer said something about a "bad batch" of them.
https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/how-much-aluminum-will-it-leach-lets-guess.247034/

I expect they all release some aluminum, since the elevated aluminum is widespread among users, but some batches may physically fall apart more readily.

 

[ATI Aquaristik]

In my tests, problems with leather corals existed at 500 ug/L and not at 50 ug/L. So at 100 ug/L you are in a grey area in between.

I don't prefer any aluminum-containing media (like MarinePure) for this reason, but if you are not experiencing poor polyp extension on corals, it may not be at a problematic level in your tank and I might not do anything.

It appears that GFO can help reduce aluminum, if you are concerned.

We made very similar experiences. We have hundreds of tanks with Aluminium at 40 - 150 ug/L in our open database and Corals dont have a real Problem as long as everything else is fine. Here are some Exampels:
http://lab.atiaquaristik.com/timeline/5707. (Aluminium at 137 ug/L)
http://lab.atiaquaristik.com/timeline/1086# (Aluminium at 55ug/L)

By the way, we think that an open database with analysis and pictures of a tank is very useful. The more people share their analysis with pictures of the tank, the more we can all learn from each other.

@Matthias7
Wait minimum 2 Weeks after replacement with dry rocks. Typically, we see a clear trend after 1-2 Weeks. Try to avoid swings (salinity/alkalinity) in your system as this is the Reason for RTN in most cases.

 

[jantje]

I noticed that some corals react on an elavated aluminium wheen i use it as PO4 remover.
Mostly it are the montipora who react fast by encosing the polyps.....but wheen i stop the aluminium filter within 2 dayss the polyps are back.
Acropora dont react on the aluminium in my tank