How much Aluminum will it leach? Let's guess
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Does the exact point/purpose in regards to phosphate, nitrate, etc really matter? If the product leaches AL into your system (it's becoming more clear that it does), I could care less about anything else it does FOR my system...
Acroporaaddict
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Will be interested to see your results. I'm setting up a 45g frag tank for SPS and planned on using a few blocks in the sump in place of live rock. Has anyone noticed negative effects from Al on SPS?
To me, two separate discussions. Sorry if I clouded the actual discussion of Al in the media. One discusses the benefit of the media for educational purposes for others, the other the potential to release aluminum.
I have over 20x the natural Al concentration according to Triton, does it affect anything in my tank? Hard to say as a hard rule but I have seen little effect of the elevated Al so I don't worry about it. I also don't do water changes so the concentration will stay high, though I know it does bind with GFO so it is probably being exported to some degree.
Here's my tank so you can see what corals have been enduring 20x natural Al levels for the last two years.
@FarmerTy No worries, I appreciate the discussion, i'm more focused on tearing the stuff from my sump per the negative affects!
@Randy Holmes-Farley Do you consider: Xenia, Caulerpa, and skimmate still the best means to export AL? Would GFO assist the export process?
@Randy Holmes-Farley Do you consider: Xenia, Caulerpa, and skimmate still the best means to export AL? Would GFO assist the export process?
What negative effects have you observed? Curious so I can look at my own tank and see if I see the same.
I've definitely seen an impact in my zoas, but again I have no proof this is what's causing it, but they've been irritated and many have melted since adding the marine pure. My SPS are thriving, so it jives with what's being reported here so far, but no empirical proof. Have not done the triton test yet.
I'll have to watch my zoa mother colonies. They are directly down stream of the blocks in the sump. I haven't noticed anything with them the past couple of years but I honestly forget they are in the sump sometimes. Thanks for sharing the observation!
Did you see my post acroporaaddict? Its relevant to your question.
Test led
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I don't normally get involved in posts like these, but I have been running to marine pure 8x8x4 blocks in my sump for the last 16 months. I have had no adverse reaction. No corals closed up. My zoas and palys spred and get fraged every few months. I will post some pictures later today but I think these blocks really help.
Exactly my experience so far, and I have Triton results to confirm I have elevated Al as well though no evidence it came from the blocks, but I would assume it. No issues with growth of any of my corals or coloration for that matter.
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Sounds like its very possible. If it has corrosion some of it could enter into the water.
Nothing is very clear with this product yet. Even this little "experiment" I'm doing here will be anecdotal. If I happen to see something negative with my Yellow Fiji Leather I can say I believe it's due to the marinepure block. But there's so much going on in our systems all the time it could be related to something else going on that I'm not even thinking about or know about. I will not change anything I've been doing to reduce the chance of any interference.
There are concerns with the Al leaching but there's also those that have no worries with it assuming it's fully inert. Why I said, depending on who you ask earlier.
Randy Holmes-Farley
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Yes, that is a possible source. Unless you have closed up corals, however, I wouldn't agonize over it.
Randy Holmes-Farley
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The Triton folks believe they see that aluminum is bound by GFO, but I've not seen any data.
Well that's good to know. I read it somewhere and just took it as a fact but that may explain my lack of decreasing Al concentration over the years, despite monthly GFO usage.
Jimbo
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My tank is SPS dominant. No effect on SPS noticed. From what I've read the Al mainly affects leather corals which I don't have. I do have a colony of Zoas and Paly's which seem fine also.
Triton came back at 80.64 ug/l for Aluminum. The Marine Pure block has been in there since day one and I knew about the possible Al problem when I added it. I wasn't too concerned as it doesn't seem to affect SPS.
I only have about 60lbs of Rock in a 93 cube so the block makes up for that . They definitely help in reducing nitrate though. I need to dose amino acids to keep nitrate from dropping too low.
If I were going to set up a Softie tank I would probably decide to leave it out, otherwise there is little evidence of them causing any harm from what I have read
Seems like the feedback we're getting so far, for tanks wanting to keep leathers that they should maybe stay away. Otherwise, a lot of us are keeping zoas, LPS, and SPS with no issues.
Again, looking forward to the results the OP gets once the blocks have been added to see if it really does increase Al.
Joel B in FL
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I cannot speak specifically to how much AI is in my tank as I have never sent off for a triton test. However I have been running the marine pure spheres in my 29g biocube for about 10 months now. My Zoas are growing and spreading like wildfire, my gsp seems to grow inches each day, my Duncan keeps adding heads every month it seems, my SPS are all growing doing well, and my neon green sinularia coral is always puffed up with its polyps out. I will say it has not been a fast grower but it has been alive in my tank for about 8 months now and seems to always be puffed up with its polyps open.
I have about a quart of the spheres in the first chamber of the back in the biocube and like I said they have been there for about 10 months now.
Also as kind of an anecdotal reference at one time I had some of the spheres in the main display I started to pull them all out and just keep them in the first chamber however there was one sphere I was unable to do this with as some Zoas had attached themselves to it and were starting to grow over it.
Again I cannot say for sure that AI is not being leached into my system but I do feel very confident it is not having any kind of ill effects on the system. I also will be using marine pure in the 180 I am currently setting up. Once I added the spheres to my biocube my nitrate struggles went away, don't know if it was coincidence or not but I feel like they are beneficial at least to me.
I have about a quart of the spheres in the first chamber of the back in the biocube and like I said they have been there for about 10 months now.
Also as kind of an anecdotal reference at one time I had some of the spheres in the main display I started to pull them all out and just keep them in the first chamber however there was one sphere I was unable to do this with as some Zoas had attached themselves to it and were starting to grow over it.
Again I cannot say for sure that AI is not being leached into my system but I do feel very confident it is not having any kind of ill effects on the system. I also will be using marine pure in the 180 I am currently setting up. Once I added the spheres to my biocube my nitrate struggles went away, don't know if it was coincidence or not but I feel like they are beneficial at least to me.
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