Your Cadmium levels are dangerously high - ICP test

techdef · Dec 13, 2020

Anyone know where that'd be coming from? Searching here & interwebs didnt turn up anything on Cadmium.

DarkSky · Dec 13, 2020

Do you have other heavy metals present in your ICP test? If that's the only one I'd chock it up to testing error.

techdef · Dec 13, 2020

DarkSky, thanks. Lithium slightly elevated too, but that was it.

MarshallB · Dec 13, 2020

Cadmium Applications

Unless you are putting batteries in your tank, it looks like the other uses are metal coatings and is used in the creation of PVC. Anything metal around the tank that could leach into the water? If it was metal corroding I would assume you would have other elevated elements as well.

Next step might be to test your RODI water.

Brett S · Dec 13, 2020

MarshallB said:
is used in the creation of PVC.

@techdef do you have any PVC plumbing? I wonder if it could have come from that... maybe a residue on the pipes or something? How old is the tank?

techdef · Dec 13, 2020

MarshallB said:
Cadmium Applications

Unless you are putting batteries in your tank, it looks like the other uses are metal coatings and is used in the creation of PVC. Anything metal around the tank that could leach into the water? If it was metal corroding I would assume you would have other elevated elements as well.

Next step might be to test your RODI water.

Batteries, too funny!

I think I may have a culprit. Bottom little bit of the kessil clamps is touching the water surface and the coating is gone. I’d assumed it was anodized but clearly not. Stratons have been ordered so of this is the cause it’s days are already numbered.

techdef · Dec 13, 2020

Brett S said:
@techdef do you have any PVC plumbing? I wonder if it could have come from that... maybe a residue on the pipes or something? How old is the tank?

Just a bit of course. The grey stuff that came with the Red Sea system. I suppose it could be someplace in the ro/di or AWC mixing station too. Thanks for the tips. I’ll test my incoming SW and see if the source is either in the tank or in the supply to tank.

techdef · Dec 13, 2020

Yeah, that paint is gone. Hoping that’s the source...

Randy Holmes-Farley · Dec 14, 2020

techdef said:
Anyone know where that'd be coming from? Searching here & interwebs didnt turn up anything on Cadmium.

How high?

Elevated and dangerous can be different things.

I've seen plenty of folks panic over nothing significant.

techdef · Dec 14, 2020

Randy,
4.005 µg/l
and the good news is I'm too ignorant to panic on this subject.

Randy Holmes-Farley · Dec 14, 2020

While it's a good plan to look for and remove any source, taht level is below the threshold for substantial concern by the EPA for marine environments (section 4.4 in the link below):

https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2016-03/documents/cadmium-final-report-2016.pdf

"the estuarine/marine CMC (Criterion Maximum Concentration) for dissolved cadmium is 33 μg/L"