ICP Results High Heavy Metals and P

[bmac300]

I finally recieved my first ICP results from Fauna Marin and the results confirm my fears. I have been having issues with my snails dying and some of my corals receding and not to mention a bad algae outbreak. Highlights are:
Phosphorus 0.71 mg/L
Total Phosphate (calculated) 2.18 mg/L
Zn 40.2 ug/L
Cu 13 ug/L
Ni 10 ug/L
Fe 4.2 ug/L
As 5 ug/L

Besides a massive water change how can i get these heavy metals and P out of my system quickly ? Will running carbon and GFO remove the heavy metals or do I need something else?
I need to find the source of these metals. I wonder if it could be an epoxy covered magnet that I have in the tank, it could be rusting and releasing the metals?

Thanks in advance for any advice.
I could attach the actual results if that helps.

 

[Wasabiroot]

I finally recieved my first ICP results from Fauna Marin and the results confirm my fears. I have been having issues with my snails dying and some of my corals receding and not to mention a bad algae outbreak. Highlights are:
Phosphorus 0.71 mg/L
Total Phosphate (calculated) 2.18 mg/L
Zn 40.2 ug/L
Cu 13 ug/L
Ni 10 ug/L
Fe 4.2 ug/L
As 5 ug/L

Besides a massive water change how can i get these heavy metals and P out of my system quickly ? Will running carbon and GFO remove the heavy metals or do I need something else?
I need to find the source of these metals. I wonder if it could be an epoxy covered magnet that I have in the tank, it could be rusting and releasing the metals?

Thanks in advance for any advice.
I could attach the actual results if that helps.

Carbon will help a bit but I would recommend Seachem CupriSorb, or two little fishes makes MetaSorb that is a resin polymer for these kinds of situations.
Have you tested your Rodi water? Maybe need to replace resin filter. Copper could be from house pipes. Or, you may have a broken or malfunctioning heater. It's coming from somewhere. Could also be algae scraper magnet, metal screen top, or lotion containing zinc. I would do a series of several water changes, put CupriSorb in a media bag in a high flow area, and maybe get some PuriGen as well. Get a copper test kit also to see if your source water is contaminated somehow. Your phosphate is also quite high at about 2ppm. However, lowering this rapidly may further aggravate your coral, so start with the metal contamination. Water changes are your friend here.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

I'm not sure if they are high enough to cause an issue (ICP values do not specify the chemical form), but I agree that cuprisorb, metasorb, polyfilter, or other metal binders are a good plan.

One or more metal parts exposed is a good place to look. Broken heater, penny in tank, etc.

 

[nereefpat]

Keep in mind those metal values are in ug/L or parts per Billion.

 

[bmac300]

Thanks, I'm going to get some cuprisorb tomorrow and do a water change. I'm also running carbon and some GFO to hopefully get my P levels down.

 

[Wasabiroot]

I'm not sure if they are high enough to cause an issue (ICP values do not specify the chemical form), but I agree that cuprisorb, metasorb, polyfilter, or other metal binders are a good plan.

One or more metal parts exposed is a good place to look. Broken heater, penny in tank, etc.

Good callout Randy. Thanks for your expert input as always!

 

[Wasabiroot]

Thanks, I'm going to get some cuprisorb tomorrow and do a water change. I'm also running carbon and some GFO to hopefully get my P levels down.

Just be careful with that GFO... Can bottom it out very quickly if you're not careful. Monitor phos levels and turn off if they start getting too low. Good luck