Lithium, is it a problem? Where is it coming from?

[JPM San Diego]

Hello.
My 200 gallon system has been running for one year. Recent addition of zoanthids were not doing well. I decided to do an ICP test for the first time. Several elements were off.
I upped my dosing of Red Sea Trace Color A,B,C,D and adjusted by calcium dosing. I repeated the ICP test and most are better.
I noticed my lithium was higher. This is my concern. Where is it coming from?

I use Instant Ocean for salt (mixed into RODI water)
Water change is 25 gallons per week
I am dosing Red Sea Trace Color A,B,C,D at 4 ml three days per week (M, W, F)
I add Red Sea Reef Energy Coral Nutrition AB+ at 20 ml daily
Calcium dosing currently 32 ml / day (Alk 47 ml /day, Mg 35 ml / day)
I feed 6 cubes per day (3 emerald entree and 3 shrimp, mysis, etc.)
Nori - 4 sheets per day
I am adding in some flake food to train my fish to eat flakes from an auto feeder I will use during an upcoming vacation

I use a protein skimmer, filter socks, and have a refugium with chaetomorpha.
I have an Apex with the standard probes

Any thoughts to my source of Lithium would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Lithium is generally low toxicity, even to people. I do not consider your level any concern. It often comes in various salt mixes and additives.

 

[SaltwaterandLime]

Lithium is also often used as pump lubricant even though it shouldn't be. Coming from a swimming pool background, folks use it on their O rings all the time but it will degrade them.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Lithium is also often used as pump lubricant even though it shouldn't be. Coming from a swimming pool background, folks use it on their O rings all the time but it will degrade them.

FWIW, lithium grease is a soap and is chemically rather different than the loose lithium ions in seawater. I just didn't want anyone with elevated lithium to worry about o-rings.

Lithium 12-hydroxystearate - American Chemical Society

American Chemical Society: Chemistry for Life.

www.acs.org

 

[SaltwaterandLime]

FWIW, lithium grease is a soap and is chemically rather different than the loose lithium ions in seawater. I just didn't want anyone with elevated lithium to worry about o-rings.

Lithium 12-hydroxystearate - American Chemical Society

American Chemical Society: Chemistry for Life.

www.acs.org

Good to know!! (It still isn't the best option for o- rings). It was just a theory when I suggested it so good to know it wouldn't cause issues that way

 

[JPM San Diego]

Lithium is generally low toxicity, even to people. I do not consider your level any concern. It often comes in various salt mixes and additives.

Thank you very much for the reassurance. If you have the time, does anything else on my ICP test results jump out as an issue that I should be working on?

 

[JAMSOURY]

Thank you very much for the reassurance. If you have the time, does anything else on my ICP test results jump out as an issue that I should be working on?

Just wondering if you were able to see where your Lithium came from? Ive been dosing Red Sea ABCD for almost a year now and just got my ICP test showing higher Lithium. Could Red Sea D possibly be where its coming from, since it doesnt really say what trace elements it consists of?

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Just wondering if you were able to see where your Lithium came from? Ive been dosing Red Sea ABCD for almost a year now and just got my ICP test showing higher Lithium. Could Red Sea D possibly be where its coming from, since it doesnt really say what trace elements it consists of?

I think it is an impurity in other things.

 

[JAMSOURY]

I think it is an impurity in other things.

Cool, good to know. I also run instant ocean salt, so it could be something there but my ICP tests have never shown that before. I also put in marine bio balls temporarily, to help my friend cycle his new tank, so that could be it too. Overall, im not seeing any problems in the tank (as you said it has low toxicity). Thank you!

 

[Reefahholic]

Lithium is in a lot of products, and you might be surprised which ones.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Yes, lithium can have medical uses, but it is only biologically active at very high concentrations relative to what we see even in reef tanks with elevated levels. It is not very potent.

1 meq/L = 7 ppm
The “high” level the op reports is 0.2 ppm)


“ The therapeutic range is 1.0 to 1.5 mEq/L for acute treatment and 0.6 to 1.2 mEq/L “

Lithium - StatPearls - NCBI Bookshelf

 

[Reefahholic]

I’ve honestly never heard of Lithium crashing a tank, but there have been a few cases where people were around 2000 ug/L with some bleaching taking place. Can’t say for sure it was the Lithium, but it was definitely suspicious. I try to keep mine under 400, but around 50-150 is ideal. I think I’m at 249 right now, and I can see active growth at that level. Most of the corals have a white ring around the base and they’re burning the coralline and algae off the rocks which looks stringy in the flow and the coralline lights up hot pink in the early am hours as it’s dying so I know they’re growing at that level.