Very high tin levels.

Aquajan · Feb 18, 2020

Hi,

I have just received the test results of my first icp test of my 6 months old tank.
And the Sn lvl it very high 55,4 ug/liter.
The tank was brand new and I only washed it out with tap water befor filling it.
All pumps are new except the Skimmer (did clean the pump a week ago and diddnt see any rust) and heater is also new.
I use marine pure, maxpect spheres and aquaforest synthetic rock.
Can I have this mutch tin from just the glass, pvc and maybe the rock or media?
I did 10% weekly wc from the start.

I got some sps and lps corals and all east 2 of 4 acros do not seem happy.

What would be the best thing to do to remove the tin?
Is there any good absorption media known to pull out tin?
Already ordered some caprisorb but I read mixed results.
Water changes will work ofc but I would need to do 5x a 50% wc to get it down to 1.7 ug/liter...
That's 750 liters of water

.!
I don't even got a container that big to make it..

Any one know how to best do this?

Hornet · Feb 18, 2020

On a dutch forum I found someone who also had high tin levels, he found an uncovered solder point in his ato.
Maybe check all equipment in the water?
I am not sure but I once heard someone use carbon for taking it out?

piranhaman00 · Feb 18, 2020

Cuprasorb should work!

Aquajan · Feb 18, 2020

dang.. Now u say ato I think of my diy ato.. The optic sensor whire is just 20cm long from the sensor and I soldered it to a cable that fit in my aquarium computer.
So the point where the cables are soldered are above the water in sump..
Used shrinking tube to protect it but it might not be enough..

I hope the cuprisorb will work.. that will make it alot more easy and cheaper.

crusso1993 · Feb 18, 2020

Aquajan said:
Hi,

I have just received the test results of my first icp test of my 6 months old tank.
And the Sn lvl it very high 55,4 ug/liter.
The tank was brand new and I only washed it out with tap water befor filling it.
All pumps are new except the Skimmer (did clean the pump a week ago and diddnt see any rust) and heater is also new.
I use marine pure, maxpect spheres and aquaforest synthetic rock.
Can I have this mutch tin from just the glass, pvc and maybe the rock or media?
I did 10% weekly wc from the start.

I got some sps and lps corals and all east 2 of 4 acros do not seem happy.

What would be the best thing to do to remove the tin?
Is there any good absorption media known to pull out tin?
Already ordered some caprisorb but I read mixed results.
Water changes will work ofc but I would need to do 5x a 50% wc to get it down to 1.7 ug/liter...
That's 750 liters of water .!
I don't even got a container that big to make it..

Any one know how to best do this?

Two Little Fishes makes the product below for removing metals...

Two Little Fishies - News and information about reef aquariums and our products

You can also use the poly filtering product below too.

Poly Filters | Aquarium Supplies at LiveAquaria

m.liveaquaria.com

Hope you are able to locate the source(s) allowing the tin to enter your system.

Larry L · Feb 18, 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.

Aquajan · Feb 19, 2020

I've looked to the soldering connection of the ato yesterday and it diddnt seem like it got wet (no rust or oxidation) so im gonna do a full equipment check when I got time.
I've also ordered a poly filter pad and gonna use both the cuprisorb and poly filter hoping to get the tin down.

Thanks for helping so far ppl

Hermie · Feb 19, 2020

piranhaman00 said:
Cuprasorb should work!

Where can we find this info?

Aquajan · Feb 19, 2020

I couldnt find any info on cuprisorb removing tin except some ppls personal experiences.
The poly filter does claim it removes 'all heavy metals'

chema · May 8, 2020

Hi: did you hace some success removing tin with the poly filter pads?

wsoldier · Oct 3, 2022

@chema @Aquajan

How was your experience with the poly filter for reducing tin? I'm in the same boat with my ICP test showing Sn @ 104 ug/l! Thanks.

Randy Holmes-Farley · Oct 3, 2022

wsoldier said:
@chema @Aquajan

How was your experience with the poly filter for reducing tin? I'm in the same boat with my ICP test showing Sn @ 104 ug/l! Thanks.

A better bet may be to remove plastic tubing that may be the source.

wsoldier · Oct 3, 2022

Randy Holmes-Farley said:
A better bet may be to remove plastic tubing that may be the source.

Thanks for chiming in @Randy Holmes-Farley , I suppose I was referring to after removal of the source since levels are expected to be extremely high even after the fact.

Randy Holmes-Farley · Oct 4, 2022

wsoldier said:
Thanks for chiming in @Randy Holmes-Farley , I suppose I was referring to after removal of the source since levels are expected to be extremely high even after the fact.

Fair enough.

Tin is a tricky one as there are lots of different chemical forms that may have different binding properties.

wsoldier · Nov 22, 2022

Just to update my situation. I obviously switched out the Home Depot braided flexible tubing for the one from BRS. Cuprisorb and poly-filter use for a month did little to nothing for my tin levels. I did a series of large 40% water changes and I'm going to continue to dilute to safer levels. Currently at ~17 ug/L and still seeing adverse effects.

bobssecrtsn · Nov 22, 2022

wsoldier said:
Just to update my situation. I obviously switched out the Home Depot braided flexible tubing for the one from BRS. Cuprisorb and poly-filter use for a month did little to nothing for my tin levels. I did a series of large 40% water changes and I'm going to continue to dilute to safer levels. Currently at ~17 ug/L and still seeing adverse effects.

keeep us posted ! by chance do you have a aluminum lid cover for your tank?

wsoldier · Nov 22, 2022

bobssecrtsn said:
keeep us posted ! by chance do you have a aluminum lid cover for your tank?

Nope, I'm using a kraken reef acrylic lid, and only after the issues started. The tin definitely came from the Home Depot tubing in my case.

Randy Holmes-Farley · Nov 23, 2022

wsoldier said:
Just to update my situation. I obviously switched out the Home Depot braided flexible tubing for the one from BRS. Cuprisorb and poly-filter use for a month did little to nothing for my tin levels. I did a series of large 40% water changes and I'm going to continue to dilute to safer levels. Currently at ~17 ug/L and still seeing adverse effects.

I would not be sure those tin levels are causing the issues you see, since some folks have higher levels without issue, but it is possible since icp concentration does not tell you the identity of the tin chemical present.

wsoldier · Nov 23, 2022

Randy Holmes-Farley said:
I would not be sure those tin levels are causing the issues you see, since some folks have higher levels without issue, but it is possible since icp concentration does not tell you the identity of the tin chemical present.

I can't pin point anything else. I realize the stress from higher levels could have just caused enough damage for continuing decline/death.

Here are my ATI ICP results.

Analysis result

ATI Aquaristik - Lab

lab.atiaquaristik.com

Hugo’s_Reef · Nov 29, 2022

Randy Holmes-Farley said:
A better bet may be to remove plastic tubing that may be the source.

Wait Tin can come from plastic tubing ? If so will it go away with plenty of water changes or would I need to replace the hoses ?
My ICP just came back with tin super high after adding a frag tank