Concerning ICP results

Arringar

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Full disclosure, this is my first ICP test...

The results are a little hard to accept, especially for Sr, Br, and B. I use ESV B-Ionic 2 part which contains all of these elements.

Another concern is the various metal concentrations. I do dose ChaetoGro which contains these particular elements but not at sufficient concentrations to account for this, especially considering I only dose it at half the recommended dosage.

And lastly if my PO4 is really as high as this test indicates I should have a some very noticeable algae which I do not.

I am not having any major issues, my montis are not looking as happy as they normally do but that’s about it. Their color is slightly pale vs normal. My tank is loaded with SPS, my acros are growing, so what am I not understanding about these results? I did the test out of curiosity because I found it in a drawer. I had purchased it 3 years ago and did not use it at the time.
 

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ScottB

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I'll encourage others to chime in, but high lithium seems pretty common and non-lethal. Google "triton lithium reef2reef" and you will find a ton of threads about this.

Our resident chemist @Randy Holmes-Farley says not to worry about it. If you want to do something about it, switch to a salt that mixes lower in lithium.

As to elevated PO4 without algae, that is fine too. Most folks don't run that high, but I have seen some gorgeous tanks running even higher. Curious what your nitrate level is like. If it is low, that could (potentially) explain why PO4 is not being consumed. Whatever you decide to do with PO4, I beg you to go slow. Your biome has adjusted to this level slowly over time without too much trouble, right? Stripping it out too quickly will cause a world of hurt to your biome. The result will be cyano first, eventually dinos, and unhappy acros.

Get a Hanna ULR and look to remove no more than .05 of PO4 per month might be a reasonable goal.
 

Randy Holmes-Farley

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Full disclosure, this is my first ICP test...

The results are a little hard to accept, especially for Sr, Br, and B. I use ESV B-Ionic 2 part which contains all of these elements.

I'm not sure I understand this sentence. B-ionic is not designed to maintain these elements, and bromide and boron are already a tiny bit elevated anyway.

The B-ionic would be having a tiny lowering effect on the high bromide and boron, and a small raising effect on the strontium.

The iron almost certainly comes from the chaetogrow. The high iron is likely OK, but it is much higher than I target.

You might benefit from adding a supplement with things like vanadium and manganese.
 
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Arringar

Arringar

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My nitrates are consistently low. I run a hybrid zeovit system and my nutrient levels are always pretty decent according to my own testing. I use my Reefbot to test most things now and it always seems to be very accurate when compared to simultaneous manual testing.

Nutrient levels per the Reefbot:
Nitrates: 2ppm (fauna marin)
PO4: 0.08ppm (Red Sea pro)
 
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Arringar

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I'm not sure I understand this sentence. B-ionic is not designed to maintain these elements, and bromide and boron are already a tiny bit elevated anyway.

The B-ionic would be having a tiny lowering effect on the high bromide and boron, and a small raising effect on the strontium.

The iron almost certainly comes from the chaetogrow. The high iron is likely OK, but it is much higher than I target.

You might benefit from adding a supplement with things like vanadium and manganese.

I’ve been planning to switch from ChaetoGro to Fuel but I haven’t been able to get my hands on any recently. Seems it has gone out of stock everywhere both local and online. I’m guessing due to recent production/supply chain interruptions. I intend to switch as soon as it is available again.

I stand corrected on the B and Br. I was of the belief that these are in ESV 2 part but I see my memory was flawed there. Thank you for chiming in and clarifying this!
 

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I’ve been planning to switch from ChaetoGro to Fuel but I haven’t been able to get my hands on any recently. Seems it has gone out of stock everywhere both local and online. I’m guessing due to recent production/supply chain interruptions. I intend to switch as soon as it is available again.

I stand corrected on the B and Br. I was of the belief that these are in ESV 2 part but I see my memory was flawed there. Thank you for chiming in and clarifying this!

They are in it. But many folks have a big misconception that having them present in it raises them. On the contrary, if they are high in the aquarium, using B-ionic will lower them EVEN THOUGH they are present.

i show how this works here:

The Many Methods for Supplementing Calcium and Alkalinity - REEFEDITION

from it:

One issue that has confused some reef keepers, however, is the presence of trace elements. Assuming that these products are actually formulated with every ion such that a true natural seawater residue remained (let’s call this the “ideal” product), then it will necessarily contain such ions as copper. Since copper is elevated in some reef tanks, and is toxic to many invertebrates, reef keepers have wrongly criticized this method as adding more copper. That’s actually not what would happen. Since these products leave a natural seawater residue, and since copper may be elevated in concentration in many reef tanks relative to seawater, then using these “ideal” products will actually LOWER copper levels because when the increase in salinity is corrected, the copper will drop.

For example:

You have copper in your aquarium at 4 ppb and salinity of S=35.

You add a two part additive that over the course of a month raises salinity to S=36, and raises copper to 4.02 ppb.

Then you correct the salinity back to S=35 by diluting everything in the tank with fresh water, and you get a final copper concentration of 3.9 ppb.

Does this happen in real products and not “ideal” products? I have no idea. But the statement by manufacturers that it contains all ions in natural ratios, including copper, should not be viewed as a concern that it is exacerbating a heavy metal problem.

The rise in salinity of these products over time can be very roughly calculated, though there are several reasons why this calculation is only an estimate. For every 1000 meq of alkalinity added in this fashion (and the matching amount of calcium) these products will deliver on the order of 60 grams of other ions to the tank. In a tank with a low calcification demand (defined later to be 18.3 thousand meq of alkalinity per year in a 100 gallon tank (0.4 dKH/day)) this effect will raise the salinity by 3 ppt per year (compared to a normal salinity of S ~35). In a high demand tank (defined later to be 219 thousand meq of alkalinity per year in a 100 gallon tank (4.4 dKH/day)), the salinity will rise by 35 ppt in a year, or approximately doubling the salinity. Consequently, the salinity should be monitored closely in using these types of additives, especially in a tank with high calcification rates.
 

ScottB

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My nitrates are consistently low. I run a hybrid zeovit system and my nutrient levels are always pretty decent according to my own testing. I use my Reefbot to test most things now and it always seems to be very accurate when compared to simultaneous manual testing.

Nutrient levels per the Reefbot:
Nitrates: 2ppm (fauna marin)
PO4: 0.08ppm (Red Sea pro)

So which PO4 test do you believe to be wrong? That is a fairly large spread:
.08 for Red Sea
.36 for Triton

I am going to speculate that Hanna ULR ( a must tool IMO) is going to come in closer to Triton. That said, some detritus in the sample might cook up some excess PO4 reading, idk.

I have seen some wonderful looking zeovit systems, but cannot speak intelligently about the method. My shallow understanding is that they are generally low nutrient, so getting to the bottom of your actual PO4 reading is likely a worthwhile exercise. I would use the Hanna ULR Phosphorus if you really think you are running low nutrient as it has a smaller error margin than the Phosphate ULR (if I read correctly).
 
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Arringar

Arringar

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So which PO4 test do you believe to be wrong? That is a fairly large spread:
.08 for Red Sea
.36 for Triton

I am going to speculate that Hanna ULR ( a must tool IMO) is going to come in closer to Triton. That said, some detritus in the sample might cook up some excess PO4 reading, idk.

I have seen some wonderful looking zeovit systems, but cannot speak intelligently about the method. My shallow understanding is that they are generally low nutrient, so getting to the bottom of your actual PO4 reading is likely a worthwhile exercise. I would use the Hanna ULR Phosphorus if you really think you are running low nutrient as it has a smaller error margin than the Phosphate ULR (if I read correctly).

I have a Hanna ULR phosphate checker, I will give it go this evening to see how it compares.
 
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Arringar

Arringar

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I have a Hanna ULR phosphate checker, I will give it go this evening to see how it compares.

Perhaps my belief that the reefbot is as accurate as the Hanna checker was a bad assumption.
 

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