Conclusion and Summary:
The understanding
from the manufacturer is that the MarinePure media does not leach any Aluminum into fresh or saltwater systems. That it is completely inert, is 100% safe, and will not alter the aquarium's chemistry at all.
http://www.cermedia.com/marinepure-faq.php
From the FAQ:
"
What is MarinePure made of and will it leach anything into my water?
MarinePure is an
inert aluminosilicate ceramic that has been fired over 1000°C. It
will not leach into tank or pond water."
"
Will MarinePure ROCK affect my water chemistry?
No, MarinePure ROCK is made from an
inert ceramic. It has
no effect on the water chemistry. One caveat, it also does not add beneficial calcium that some reefers desire."
Lets start with some basic before numbers of which I was going into it just concentrating on Al and not so much the nutrients PO4 and NO3 as I did not and have not had issues with either of them and they were already to low for my taste.
Before adding the block:
PO4:
Hanna 736 ULR: 3ppb and 0.009198 ppm converted
Triton: 3.15 µg/l and 0.010 mg/l converted
Nitrates:
Red Sea/Salifert/API/Nyos: 0 (undetectable)
Al:
Triton: 0 µg/l (has been under 2 µg/l, Triton's set point, in every test result from Triton I've done)
After 1 month with the block in place:
PO4:
Hanna: 5ppb Phosphorus or 0.01533ppm Phosphates converted.
Triton: 6.59 µg/l and 0.020 mg/l converted
Nitrates:
Red Sea/Salifert/Nyos: ~2.5mg/L
Al:
Triton: 19.15 µg/l (do not know what form this is in fyi)
During this entire month I maintained my vinegar/vodka dosing, skimming, and 1% daily water changes. I did not run or use anything else that could export anything.
After taking the sample water for Triton I placed in the Marine Pure block in my sump in a low flow area. Several odd events occurred the following day and days after that. Which for my tank change is very easy for me to see as I note pretty much any change I do to my tank since I stood it up in a tank journal and any reactions my tank has. I feel I've gotten pretty good at observations of cause and effect in my system but at the same time know there is room for error and of course always learning.
Effects that were noted after placing in the block:
1. Fiji Leather Coral quickly looked irritated and shrunk
2. Duncan retracted
3. One of my Bubble tips split (otherwise they looked great the entire time)
4. A single drastic short term drop in pH
5. All my sponges "shed" and shrunk
My Fiji Yellow Leather has not had full polyp extension the entire time the block was in place. It took over 2 weeks before it would start looking somewhat ok. The Duncan recovered fairly quickly. The sponges slowly started growing again.
Some of that I believe can be explained by a quick large growth of bacteria in the media (Duncan retracting and quick pH drop). But the longer term effects on the Fiji Leather I believe are more directly related to the Block and the Al content. I still don't know about the sponge if its directly but at least is indirectly related.
After this one month period I did move all my sump equipment to a new location and sump. I also went ahead and moved the MarinePure block over a couple days after the sump was already running doing a quick rinse in tank water from the old sump. I believe this swishing and draining of the block exported quite a bit of bacteria and the act of moving it released some more fines from the media it seems as I noted the following again after placing the block in the new sump.
1. Fiji leather Coral quickly looking irritated and shrunk.
2. Duncan retracted
3. A single drastic short term drop in pH
4. All my sponges "shed" and shrunk
I do not believe it to be coincidence but a direct relation to placing the Marine Pure block into the system.
As a side note there was one other unexpected event that occurred. Which was my Nitrates increased during this time. My phosphates did also slightly but with in what they normally trend. My nitrates trended much higher then normal in the after results.
Link to that post when I found my nitrates increasing including a chart showing the ramp up.
https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/h...t-leach-lets-guess.247034/page-8#post-2962938
Just found it interesting and humorous but not concerning as this is also in the manufacturers FAQ. I did have the block in a low flow area...
"I know MarinePure is effective at removing Ammonia and Nitrites, but will it remove Nitrates?
MarinePure Blocks do an excellent job in supporting bacteria which remove ammonia and nitrite. Bacteria based Nitrate removal is a little more difficult as it is very system dependent. Any media for this purpose needs to be in an anoxic environment (very low oxygen) and have a carbon source available. These conditions are dependent on systems bio-loads and flow rates. Our blocks are thick so the oxygen in the water passing through the block can be consumed before entering the middle of the block. We recommend placing the media in a passive or low flow area for the best opportunity to remove Nitrates. "
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