Is rust bad for aquariums?

[Rick's Reviews]

Hello i just wanted to know if rust is bad for aquariums? I have a 100 gallon tank that has been cycling for 3 weeks and this morning i notoced my temp probe from my thermometee was already looking rusted. There is no lifestock in the tank as i am ghost feeding but i dont know of rust can affect the cycle. Do i need to do anything? I removed the probe already

Can you describe a good rust? Without Google lol

 

[MnFish1]

Can you describe a good rust? Without Google lol

some would say 'rust' - is iron oxide - which is GFO. The issue is whether this equipment has other things (i.e. non iron) - that is leaching into the tank. I doubt strongly - that a probe is made from iron.

 

[Rick's Reviews]

some would say 'rust' - is iron oxide - which is GFO. The issue is whether this equipment has other things (i.e. non iron) - that is leaching into the tank. I doubt strongly - that a probe is made from iron.

So not a good rust ? And possibly not on iron probes

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Good rust is when you buy a pure iron nail for $800 and put it in the tank.

Bad rust is when you buy a random alloy nail for 3 cents, put it in the tank, and have to hope it isn’t toxic.

 

[MnFish1]

So not a good rust ? And possibly not on iron probes

yes . IMHO - not a good rust

 

[Double monti 61]

And do not leave your magnetic glass cleaning device in your system when you are not using it they can also develop rust.

 

[MnFish1]

yes . IMHO - not a good rust

I mean - I'm going to change my sentence - anytime something is 'breaking down' - get rid of it.

 

[Rick's Reviews]

I mean - I'm going to change my sentence - anytime something is 'breaking down' - get rid of it.

Especially rusty stuff

 

[Paul B]

You are definitely avant guard

Thats why I named my book that.

 

[Dburr1014]

Hello i just wanted to know if rust is bad for aquariums? I have a 100 gallon tank that has been cycling for 3 weeks and this morning i notoced my temp probe from my thermometee was already looking rusted. There is no lifestock in the tank as i am ghost feeding but i dont know of rust can affect the cycle. Do i need to do anything? I removed the probe already

I find it oxidizes at the water line.
To get around this I use shrink tubing on the probe. It helps a lot.

 

[Reefer Matt Verified Media Partner]

My opinion: Go ahead and cycle your tank. I think most people didn't read that no livestock is in it yet. Remove the rusty probe, and do your water change after the cycle. Relax.

 

[HBtank]

Any metal in your tank that rusts would concern me; first, anything made for marine use/submersion should not rust, so I question the product, and secondly, you do not know what the composition is.... almost nothing is a "pure" metal, and to just assume any oxidation is the same as GFO (and that only iron is oxidizing) would be a mistake.

 

[Tathamet]

If its stainless steel and it’s rusting, chromium will be coming out for sure. I think it varies from 10 ish to 30 ish % chromium. Can also contain nickel, molybdenum and titanium from what I’ve read.

The lower the chromium content the more it will rust.

 

[trainbob]

Asking for a friend what is pure metal

 

[HBtank]

Asking for a friend what is pure metal

Not an alloy, but you would be hard pressed to find that in modern materials.

I think my point was the notion that rust is just "GFO or iron oxide" is misleading, it could be more than that.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Asking for a friend what is pure metal

This is about as close to a pure iron as you are likely to get. 99.999% Fe.

https://www.americanelements.com/printpdf/product/38075/datasheet

 

[trainbob]

Are you suggesting that his probe was made from iron.

 

[sfin52]

I have a small jar of rusty nails. They are sitting in tank water and every couple of days I "shoot" about an ounce of that brown, rusty water in my reef.

So far, no problems but I have only been doing this for maybe a decade, but thats just me. According to these forums just about everything is bad

Your humor is fantastic. Your tank speaks for it self. Have you figured out how to get a Volvo in the tank.

 

[Paul B]

Thank you, but I really do put rusty nails in my tank.

I won't put any Volvo parts in my tank because I run an American tank and only use vintage General Motors parts like Oldsmobile, Chevy, Buick etc.

They rust to a nice patina. (That may be the reason I have never been on the disease forum since Nixon was President, but I am guessing)

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Are you suggesting that his probe was made from iron.

It’s likely a steel alloy that is mostly iron. Iron is not a concern. The other metals in a steel alloy can be a concern.