High Antimony, Tin, Vanadium, Zinc (and others) per Triton ICP

[Wrasse-cal]

I should have done this months ago. I sent off a for a Trition ICP test and lo and behold, problems observed.

I've got quite high levels of Antimony, Tin, Vanadium, Zinc (among others).

https://www.triton-lab.de/en/showroom/aquarium/auswertung-b/icp-oes/58968/

In trying to figure out the cause, I noticed the screw on a gate valve in my sump was rusty. I removed it, but I'm curious/concerned if my test results are consistent with the screw being the cause, or perhaps only a part of the problem.

I know my PO4 is high, but that's been dealt with. I had some food fall into the tank. My PO4 is now testing at .03 ppm with just uptake via macro algae.

 

[rkpetersen]

The rusty screw could be the cause of your excess metal levels. I'd make sure there isn't anything else corroding anywhere else in the system. What kind of sand do you have? Black sand seems to leach vanadium (and also nickel) with some regularity. Your silicon is pretty high; the most common cause for this is from using tap water or an RODI system that isn't working properly (and this could also contribute to some of the other contaminants.)

 

[Wrasse-cal]

Thanks, @rkpetersen.

I don't have black sand. I've got Caribsea West Caribbean Reef sand.

As to the silica, my RODI system (from BRS) has the dual TDS meters from BRS. I am at 2 PPM prior to my DI resin and 0 PPM after the resin. Should I be concerned even though my TDS meters read 0 as output?

 

[rkpetersen]

Thanks, @rkpetersen.

I don't have black sand. I've got Caribsea West Caribbean Reef sand.

As to the silica, my RODI system (from BRS) has the dual TDS meters from BRS. I am at 2 PPM prior to my DI resin and 0 PPM after the resin. Should I be concerned even though my TDS meters read 0 as output?

You could still have a bit of silica getting through with o TDS on the meter, but probably not enough to give you high levels (unless you never do water changes, in which case it could possibly build up over time.)

High silica/silicon isn't going to be particularly toxic anyway, although it could predispose to diatom blooms.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

I agree the screw may have contributed to those issues, but they also can be high for other reasons.

 

[AbsoluteZer0273]

I just received my triton results today, and I have high levels of Sn and Sb. I don’t have any rusty screws I can find, however I use all jedao pumps. They were my first thought when I read antimony was used in part with tin to make an alloy for use in electrical connections. I figured my cheap Chinese pumps might be the cause. I assume since it’s a heavy metal it can be pretty bad for my corals! Not sure how to get rid of it other than maybe a few big water changes. That’s as long as it’s not from my pumps.

 

[AbsoluteZer0273]

After talking to my lfs they claim the metals are leaching from my marine pure blocks! Not sure what to think of it as so many people have it in there tanks. Has anyone else heard of this as a cause?

 

[rkpetersen]

I've only heard of aluminum leaching from Marine Pure blocks, which is pretty well established. I've had excess tin before, it was from a prematurely rusting Jebao return pump. As for the antimony, I got nothing, I've not seen it elevated myself or on the results of others that I've happened to see. Your thought that a pump might be involved is a reasonable one.

 

[rkpetersen]

Also check any magnets that might be in the tank; make sure that whatever encloses them hasn't cracked open or leaked.

 

[Mark198734]

Would activated carbon remove tin from the system I had this come back on my icp test it suggested water changes but I was wondering If there was a media that would remove it

 

[rkpetersen]

A combination of GAC and PolyFilter brought my tin back down to the normal range after a rusty pump elevated it.

 

[Robbo1972]

Hi all
Looking for some help had my first icp test back from triton.
Would green eheim pipe or jbl pipe course high Antimony?
Took a snapshot so you can see what they say.

 

[rkpetersen]

Hi all
Looking for some help had my first icp test back from triton.
Would green eheim pipe or jbl pipe course high Antimony?
Took a snapshot so you can see what they say.

What's your actual antimony level? (Your snap just includes Triton's typical marginally useful suggestions.)

Not sure entirely what Triton means by 'green tubes'. Flexible opaque green tubing sold for aquarium use shouldn't be a problem. They may be talking about using a regular green garden hose. These hoses are totally unsuitable for the hobby of course, and have been shown to contain (and therefore probably leach) antimony as well as many other substances. Here's a clip from an article:

• 21 new garden hoses were purchased from Lowes, Home Depot, Walmart, Target and Kmart. One-third (8 of 21) of the garden hoses tested contained high levels of one or more chemicals of concern. These hoses are widely available and top selling brands.
• Of the 21 garden hoses tested, 67 percent (14 of 21) were polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and 4.5% contained brominated flame retardants.
• 5 hoses were tested for phthalate content. Total phthalate content in those hoses ranged from 11 percent to 18 percent by weight. Phthalates are not chemically bound to the material and can be released to the air and water.
• All of the PVC hoses tested for phthalates contained one or more of the phthalates which have been banned by CPSC in children’s products.
• Hazardous metals were also found in hoses; including organic tin stabilizers (29 percent); and antimony (52 percent)
• Overall the level of lead in garden hoses declined between 2012 and 2013. The percentage of hoses with greater then 100 ppm lead declined from 50 percent in 2012 to 14 percent in 2013.

The other thing that I'd be concerned about with high level of antimony is solder, as many forms of solder contain it. Check to make sure no solder touches the water anywhere in your system.

 

[Robbo1972]

I myself thought it wouldn’t be the eheim or jbl hoses as most people use them.

 

[rkpetersen]

7.3, that seems pretty high. I don't have any personal experience with elevated antimony, so it's hard to say if that level is truly hazardous. Still, I'd want to find and remove the source.

fwiw, I always run a small amount of high grade carbon in a reactor in my tanks, which may help with heavy metals like antimony and definitely helps with organic toxins.

 

[Robbo1972]

I have had carbon in the sump for the last couple of weeks. While the icp was sent. Got the fluval activated carbon. Maybe a better brand would be better?
This was my main concern from the test.

 

[rkpetersen]

Many people like ROX 0.8 activated carbon. It's very low dust and extremely powerful. Best to use only a small quantity at first and work up if necessary.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

Hi all
Looking for some help had my first icp test back from triton.
Would green eheim pipe or jbl pipe course high Antimony?
Took a snapshot so you can see what they say.

What was the antimony level? Not everything they advise doing is, IMO, necessarily needed.

 

[Robbo1972]

Hi
It was 7.3 on the sb part of the test. Been to lfs for some help as well. Ste at my lfs said it cannot be the green hose as they are safe reckons probably element overdose only thing I have dosed is no pox on a regular bases
Molybdenum levels are slightly elevated at 21. Which I think I read on here that nopox contains. Also getting cyano bacteria in tank.

 

[Ashley Kekua]

antimony found in plastics, PETE 1