Zoas not doing well, order ICP, here's my results, any recommendations?

[ItsAName]

My Zoas have been hanging on, maybe lose one a month, thought I'd order this test for anything super obvious, not sure how to interpret the results or what I should do to correct the yellows and reds. Noticed I and P are low. I've been facing a diatom outbreak for months, been doing everything in my power to reduce it. Anything in these reports that suggest a problem there too?

If it helps I use marine pure in my refugium.

 

[madweazl]

Aluminum looks to be fairly high; I cant say with any certainty that is your sole issue but could be a contributor.

 

[ItsAName]

Aluminum looks to be fairly high; I cant say with any certainty that is your sole issue but could be a contributor.

How does it get high and how do you reduce it?

 

[madweazl]

Do any of your components have aluminum fasteners? Something that could have fallen in the tank? Top off water that is high in aluminum?

 

[Blizzahjh]

Do you use phosguard? Phosguard allegedly leaches aluminum however in most cases its not an issue.

 

[ItsAName]

Comment 1: I don't use Phosguard but I do use GFO. My top off water is RODI, no buffers

Comment 2: A hose clamp fell in the water for a couple of weeks and I didn't notice. It rusted, but it's stainless steal. Could that be an issue?

http://www.acehardware.com/product/...06&cp=2568443.2568452.2631237.2631263.2631348

How about the low P, I, K and the high V and Zn? Any concerns?

I know nothing about the Li group. Any thoughts there?

 

[andrew james]

I would run some Cuprisorb. There is a lot of Vanadium in some stainless maybe that's where that is coming from.

 

[Jlentz]

How does it get high and how do you reduce it?

Isn’t marine pure made out of aluminum?

 

[Bouncingsoul39]

Your V is high. Take care of that V. Also, why not feed some corals with Reef Energy A+B. It has what corals crave.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

In my tests, that level of aluminum wasn't enough to cause immediate problems in soft corals, but the MarinePure can be a source.

I'm not sure if the vanadium is an actual problem.

Depleted molybdenum and other trace elements might also be worth considering dosing.

The potassium is low and should be raised.

 

[ItsAName]

Your V is high. Take care of that V. Also, why not feed some corals with Reef Energy A+B. It has what corals crave.

Based on the numbers I posted, what will Reef Energy A+B resolve?

 

[ItsAName]

I would run some Cuprisorb. There is a lot of Vanadium in some stainless maybe that's where that is coming from.

Is this what you mean?
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0006JLVV2

 

[ItsAName]

In my tests, that level of aluminum wasn't enough to cause immediate problems in soft corals, but the MarinePure can be a source.

I'm not sure if the vanadium is an actual problem.

Depleted molybdenum and other trace elements might also be worth considering dosing.

The potassium is low and should be raised.

Should I remove the marinepure? I thought it was cement with holes in it
I have potassium, how do you figure out how much to dose? Also, how do you dose Molybdenum?

 

[Bouncingsoul39]

Based on the numbers I posted, what will Reef Energy A+B resolve?

Not necessarily resolve, but eliminate the possibility that your Zoas are not getting enough nutrients. In turn, you will boost their health and the health of other corals in the tank both improving color and growth. Something I'd add 1-2 times a week unless doing carbon dosing or zeo.

 

[rkpetersen]

Comment 1: I don't use Phosguard but I do use GFO. My top off water is RODI, no buffers

Comment 2: A hose clamp fell in the water for a couple of weeks and I didn't notice. It rusted, but it's stainless steal. Could that be an issue?

http://www.acehardware.com/product/...06&cp=2568443.2568452.2631237.2631263.2631348

How about the low P, I, K and the high V and Zn? Any concerns?

I know nothing about the Li group. Any thoughts there?

And here's another opinion.

Phosguard will raise aluminum, GFO will not. Some forms of GFO claim to remove aluminum (and silica). Aluminum elevation in that range is probably insignificant.

Your P is fine. As long as there is some there and it's not 0. (Also, the phosphate level given there is just a numerical conversion from the P level measured.)

Li is commonly elevated, typically from salt; your level isn't anything to be concerned about.

V is used in steel but typically in knives and such, I don't know how much would be in a cheap steel clamp. In addition to Cuprisorb, it might be removable with a Poly-Filter.

K is at the low end but not really a big concern unless it drops lower. You should monitor it with a Salifert test kit.

I is definitely too low. Be careful dosing it though because it can reach toxic levels fast with some supplements. Hobbyist iodine test kits are all inaccurate; don't base dosing on their results.

Any of these results could be spurious. It's quite amazing how often one or two results can be markedly different between these OES labs, even when testing identical samples.

 

[Hans-Werner]

Your phosphate is very low. 0.01 ppm total phosphate should be too low for Zoas. Zoas seem not to tolerate low nutrient conditions very well. Even 0.02 ppm total phosphate ("Setpoint") is low for most corals. I sometimes wonder about the green and red buttons. Too low never seems to be dangerous in these comments.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

Should I remove the marinepure? I thought it was cement with holes in it
I have potassium, how do you figure out how much to dose? Also, how do you dose Molybdenum?

If nitrate is too low, or if soft corals are closed for unknown reasons (possibly aluminum), I'd remove some or all of the Marine pure.

What type of potassium additive do you have?

For molybdenum, you'd have to find an additive with it present.

 

[ItsAName]

If nitrate is too low, or if soft corals are closed for unknown reasons (possibly aluminum), I'd remove some or all of the Marine pure.

What type of potassium additive do you have?

For molybdenum, you'd have to find an additive with it present.

If I remove all of the marine pure wouldnt that affect the bacteria and cause a spike in nitrate or ammonia or something?

I have Red Sea Coral Colors B for a potassium additive.

Any recommendations for molybdenum? All I can find is Triton, but feels like I'd be buying a ton of it to dose a little.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

If I remove all of the marine pure wouldnt that affect the bacteria and cause a spike in nitrate or ammonia or something?

I have Red Sea Coral Colors B for a potassium additive.

Any recommendations for molybdenum? All I can find is Triton, but feels like I'd be buying a ton of it to dose a little.

You need not remove all of it at once.

I don't have a specific molybdenum additive that I recommend.

 

[ItsAName]

Quick update. I removed half of my marine pure two weeks ago, and within a couple of days my zoas started to open up more. This is after months of them not opening up completely. I wonder if it was from the aluminum or something else. I'm going to remove the rest of it this weekend. I would never have done this without the advice from here, so thanks a million, it seems to be working!

I also started dosing Iodine twice a week at 0.5ml each using Red Sea supplements. I'm afraid of poisoning the tank, so I will stop in another week and take another water sample then.

I haven't ran cuprisorb yet as I didnt want to make too many changes at once, but will 2 weeks after taking the rest of the marine pure out.