Trace metals elevated

[TK_KW]

Afternoon,

Anyone shed some light. Just got results back from ATI. Seems I elevated trace metals, and need to find a source.

What are some obvious things that leech tin, etc into tank. In the concentration they show.

Link below show results.

//lab.atiaquaristik.com/share/7b81db37f030a591056b

 

[TK_KW]

Not sure why link doesn't work

 

[Dr. Jim]

I can't see the chart very well but it looks like tin is 21? If so, 10-20 may not cause a problem. If tin is the only metal elevated, I would say it is coming from plastics.
You can start on page 3 here to see my experiences and conclusions with tin:

Another Triton ICP "High Tin" Case

I struggled with Tin a lot in the early life of my new tank and went crazy but it eventually subsided. I think this is only seen on smaller systems where the dilution is much lower. Hard lesson learned for new systems: RUN ALL EQUIPMENT AND NEW SYSTEMS IN HEATED RODI WATER FOR A WEEK+ AND...

www.reef2reef.com

 

[TK_KW]

I can't see the chart very well but it looks like tin is 21? If so, 10-20 may not cause a problem. If tin is the only metal elevated, I would say it is coming from plastics.
You can start on page 3 here to see my experiences and conclusions with tin:

Another Triton ICP "High Tin" Case

I struggled with Tin a lot in the early life of my new tank and went crazy but it eventually subsided. I think this is only seen on smaller systems where the dilution is much lower. Hard lesson learned for new systems: RUN ALL EQUIPMENT AND NEW SYSTEMS IN HEATED RODI WATER FOR A WEEK+ AND...

www.reef2reef.com

Ya tin is 21 and zinc is 20. There recommendation was

"Trace metals are elevated, find source!"

 

[Daniel]

How old is the tank? I've read somewhere that there may be trace amounts of tin during the glass manufacturing process which may make its way over into new tanks and drop in value over time.

Of course, there may be other contributing factors... are there other sources of metal like screws, nails, or magnets. I guess there is a general point they're trying to make which is to begin ruling out the source possibilities that are contributing to the contaminants!

 

[Dr. Jim]

Ya tin is 21 and zinc is 20. There recommendation was

"Trace metals are elevated, find source!"

I don't have as much confidence in my "Zn recommendations" as I do with tin, but I suspect that Zn at 20 may be significant. I dose Zn every day because it seems to be depleted quickly.

Elevated Zn may suggest a metal corroding somewhere.

FWIW...I think the ATI- ICP company is fine but I have reason to believe their tin values may tend to run high compared to other companies (Triton; OCEAMO). It might be worth running another test with Triton to compare results before you go crazy searching for a source.....but it probably wouldn't hurt to do a look for a piece of metal.

If those numbers are real and you have a large tank (220, right?) then you must have a good amount leaching. Any new acrylic or plastic added recently?

Most importantly, how do the corals look? If everything is fine, then maybe you don't need to do anything drastic. Just repeat ICP in a month??

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Other than ruling out metal parts in the water, I personally would not do anything drastic unless there was a clear coral problem.

When an ICP company says jump, the response is not how high, but why.