Very elevated Tin levels

Randy Holmes-Farley · Jul 5, 2018

dodgerblew said:
Upon further inspection it appears that the hose that attaches the hose to the tank return nipple has a metal hose clamp and it is rusted. Looks like the bulkhead must have a slow leak and there is a 1-1.5" salt stalactite which sits above the sump. I take it this can very well be the culprit I'm looking for? I'll be switching to a plastic hose clamp

That can release metals, etc.

Roger Brooks · Oct 16, 2019

How about tin levels at 149.8? And in a RedSea 170. Totally baffled: new pump, new skimmer, new reactors, new UV filter, new lights, new MP10 pumps, new sand, I have no heater. I even got rid of the under-tank sump and have a new sump sitting next to the tank. The only two "original" pieces of equipment are the Arctica Chiller and some MarinePure bio-spheres. Yet, even with twice-weekly 10% water changes, tin at well over 100. I hate to spend $800 to buy a new chiller in case it's the culprit. At wits end. For those who said they had readings in the 20's I WISH I had that low of levels of tin!

The sump is in an open room, away from any metal hinges, sump lights, etc. Sheesh! Any ideas?

sgrosenb · Oct 17, 2019

Mine was at 8.0 so obviously much lower. It's coming down slowly as I do water changes. My culprit seemed to be float valves... both fly nuts were rusting in my sump and my water change bucket. Not sure it helps but just and FYI for others.

SirRoadwolf · Mar 2, 2021

Roger Brooks said:
How about tin levels at 149.8? And in a RedSea 170. Totally baffled: new pump, new skimmer, new reactors, new UV filter, new lights, new MP10 pumps, new sand, I have no heater. I even got rid of the under-tank sump and have a new sump sitting next to the tank. The only two "original" pieces of equipment are the Arctica Chiller and some MarinePure bio-spheres. Yet, even with twice-weekly 10% water changes, tin at well over 100. I hate to spend $800 to buy a new chiller in case it's the culprit. At wits end. For those who said they had readings in the 20's I WISH I had that low of levels of tin!

The sump is in an open room, away from any metal hinges, sump lights, etc. Sheesh! Any ideas?

Wow that is high! Any updates on this? I would speculate with all that new equipment, it might of been stabilizers in the plastics and PVC as mentioned earlier in this thread?

My ICP test just came back with 23.00 ug/L for Tin.

My 100 gal tank system has been running for ~3 years now. Only a few 1/4 tank water changes, but I haven't done one for a while. I am kind of wondering if I have some tin inside one of the backflow preventers (since my Tank is on the 1st floor, and my Sump is in the basement, it is a long run), or maybe a spring that is rusting. But I don't have any other heavy metals detectable, so I am doubting it is actually rust.

Sometimes I accidentally drop the foil from my frozen mysis shrimp into the aquarium. Do you guys think having maybe 2 or 3 of those small foil press thru tabs in there under the sand buried, might be enough to cause those levels?

Randy Holmes-Farley · Mar 2, 2021

SirRoadwolf said:
Sometimes I accidentally drop the foil from my frozen mysis shrimp into the aquarium. Do you guys think having maybe 2 or 3 of those small foil press thru tabs in there under the sand buried, might be enough to cause those levels?

I would suspect not.

tastyfish · Mar 4, 2021

Randy Holmes-Farley said:
I would suspect not.

It’s probably Aluminium also?

tastyfish · Mar 4, 2021

SirRoadwolf said:
Wow that is high! Any updates on this? I would speculate with all that new equipment, it might of been stabilizers in the plastics and PVC as mentioned earlier in this thread?

My ICP test just came back with 23.00 ug/L for Tin.

My 100 gal tank system has been running for ~3 years now. Only a few 1/4 tank water changes, but I haven't done one for a while. I am kind of wondering if I have some tin inside one of the backflow preventers (since my Tank is on the 1st floor, and my Sump is in the basement, it is a long run), or maybe a spring that is rusting. But I don't have any other heavy metals detectable, so I am doubting it is actually rust.

Sometimes I accidentally drop the foil from my frozen mysis shrimp into the aquarium. Do you guys think having maybe 2 or 3 of those small foil press thru tabs in there under the sand buried, might be enough to cause those levels?

If you’ve not added any equipment or accessories, media etc since the last ICP, then it’s likely to be 2 things: 1: Salt or RO Contamination or 2: ICP detection error.

Are you seeing any impact on the tank? Corals going pale which cannot be attributed to anything else? If not, I would perform another ICP and see if the levels are changed. Tin is relatively easy to remove with some carbons (depending on the compound the tin is bonded in) or with Metasorb or similar.

SirRoadwolf · Mar 4, 2021

It is sadly my first ICP test even, in the 3 years the tank has been running. So nothing to compare back to. No sudden changes, just working on getting a handle on things I can improve upon.

tastyfish · Mar 5, 2021

SirRoadwolf said:
It is sadly my first ICP test even, in the 3 years the tank has been running. So nothing to compare back to. No sudden changes, just working on getting a handle on things I can improve upon.

In which case, I wouldn't change too much. Run some carbon and do another ICP test in 30 days or so. It will probably disappear, more so if you're doing water changes.

Tin based stablisers and from float glass appear to be a surface contamination, which washes off and don't appear to leach, so it's unlikely to be a longer term problem.