Tin (Sn) is off the chart too high....why?

CyberGuy · Mar 20, 2020

My Tin (Sn) level is super high according to the Triton ICP test.

It says that the possibility is metal contamination. I am not sure what metal could have entered my tank.

I have MP40 and I do not see any rust spots.

My tank is 90 gallon and it is not doing so well.

ScottR · Mar 20, 2020

Do you have any PVC pipes in your tank?

CyberGuy · Mar 20, 2020

ScottR said:
Do you have any PVC pipes in your tank?

Yes, I use PVC pipes from Home Depot for my plumbing.

ScottR · Mar 20, 2020

I believe tin is used in the production of PVC. So that’s most likely the reason.

CyberGuy · Mar 20, 2020

ScottR said:
I believe tin is used in the production of PVC. So that’s most likely the reason.

If that is the case, would thousands of reefs have high tin level since most people use PVC pipes for their plumbing?

ScottR · Mar 20, 2020

CyberGuy said:
If that is the case, would thousands of reefs have high tin level since most people use PVC pipes for their plumbing?

I’ve seen this question posed before. So, perhaps.

ScottR · Mar 20, 2020

This is from Wikipedia about PVC production. Not all PVC contains tin as a stabilizer but in North American made PVC, it’s more common.

Intense37754 · Mar 20, 2020

Is this for all schedule PVC?

Larry L · Mar 20, 2020

Tin is used as a stabilizer during the production of PVC. There's also some speculation that if a glass aquarium is built with any of the panes facing float-side in, then some tin might leach from the surface (since float glass is usually floated on tin).

I had high tin on my first ICP test, ran some Poly-Bio-Marine Poly Filter pads for a while, has not been a problem since. Super high levels of tin can be harmful, but at these kind of levels I don't think it's that big of a deal, I think it's yet another thing that has been going on for a long time and nobody noticed or cared before ICP testing became common.

Randy Holmes-Farley · Mar 20, 2020

Lots of people do have elevated tin. The cause can also be aquarium glass or metal parts.

Most people do not seem to have problems from the tin levels they have, but using a metal binding material such as metasorb may be useful.