Olivine impact on Reef tank

k2- · May 8, 2023

Hey ReefKeepers, Came across a giant ship built by UCLA in LA harbor which runs Olivine reactors. Their claims are its slow dissolving and helps with Alk and CA by removing co2 from water.

If someone has already used it please share your experience .

If not - Would like to run a spare reactor on my spare fully established tank and would like to record the readings in that case

-- What would you like me to record / observe ?

Saltyreef · May 8, 2023

@Randy Holmes-Farley

taricha · May 9, 2023

https://www.technologyreview.com/20...d-capture-billions-of-tons-of-carbon-dioxide/

wiki - "The mineral olivine is a magnesium iron silicate with the chemical formula (Mg,Fe)2SiO4."
guessing you'd end up adding a lot of Si and maybe some Fe into your tank water.

Randy Holmes-Farley · May 9, 2023

I cannot see this being useful in a reef tank. Diatoms, anyone?

Frontiers | Kinetics of Olivine Weathering in Seawater: An Experimental Study

Enhanced weathering of mafic and ultra-mafic minerals has been suggested as a strategy for carbon dioxide removal (CDR) and a contribution to achieve a balan...

www.frontiersin.org

Furthermore, the release of toxic elements such as nickel has been subject to speculations about a possible negative effect on the environment if olivine is applied in coastal ecosystems

Why using the oceans to suck up CO2 might not be as easy as hoped

New studies suggest simply adding minerals or growing seaweed might be limited or costly ways of removing carbon dioxide.

www.technologyreview.com

"Researchers at the GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research in Germany recently dissolved fine-grained sand made up primarily of olivine in artificial seawater. Over a period of 134 days, they found, the water’s alkalinity actually decreased. This and other factors reduced the amount of carbon removed by a factor of five compared with olivine’s theoretical potential, according to the researchers."

k2- · May 9, 2023

This is what my biggest concern is - I expect to see diatoms, algae bloom and many other things -

The reason i feel okie to testing it out on an external reactor is because my primary tank being separate and secondary tank has minimal live stock which i wont mind putting through a bit of stress.

I guess a ICP at the beginning and end of every 30 days would be a good start.