How much Aluminum will it leach? Let's guess

[jedimasterben]

Sorry for surfacing an old thread but my first ICP results show sky high aluminum: 475 µg/l

I have three broken pieces of brightwell’s Xport brick in a 25 gallon aquarium.

Has there been confirmation that this brick leaches aluminum?

I just left for vacation (of course) got the results and have been researching.

Should I call someone to remove the bricks from my aquarium?

Ughh not how I wanted to start off this trip.

Is something wrong now? if not, then just let it ride. The more you stress about it and try and change something immediately, the more damage you're going to cause.

 

[Scott Campbell]

Sorry for surfacing an old thread but my first ICP results show sky high aluminum: 475 µg/l

I have three broken pieces of brightwell’s Xport brick in a 25 gallon aquarium.

Has there been confirmation that this brick leaches aluminum?

I just left for vacation (of course) got the results and have been researching.

Should I call someone to remove the bricks from my aquarium?

Ughh not how I wanted to start off this trip.

This may not be the case - but an ICP test cannot distinguish between ceramic dust (which is an alumina-silicate compound) and aluminum by itself / silica by itself. Which is like the difference between table salt and chlorine gas / sodium. Ceramic dust can be an irritant to certain corals but likely a short-term irritant. And like table salt not toxic. So if your bricks are broken up, ICP testing for dust in the water column is a likely possibility. Did the ICP test also indicate a high amount of silica? That would possibly confirm that it is dust rather than free aluminum.

 

[mfollen]

Thank you so much! Silica, SI i believe is 109 µg/l which is just above set point.

Is that high? Picture attached.

The brightwell bricks are broken into three smaller pieces maybe 2”x2”.

Compared to the Al level of 475 µg/l. Could that be what’s happening? Al is much higher than the setpoint than SI is.

Thank you SO MUCH! This is not how I want to start my vacation / first week away from the tank. If only the test results came a few days earlier...

 

[Scott Campbell]

Thank you so much! Silica, SI i believe is 109 µg/l which is just above set point.

Is that high? Picture attached.

The brightwell bricks are broken into three smaller pieces maybe 2”x2”.

Compared to the Al level of 475 µg/l. Could that be what’s happening? Al is much higher than the setpoint than SI is.

Thank you SO MUCH! This is not how I want to start my vacation / first week away from the tank. If only the test results came a few days earlier...

That is not a high amount of silica. Ceramic dust in the water column would show even more silica than it would aluminum. So there may be something else going on. That all said - I wouldn't be too worried about aluminum at that level. Especially if nothing is showing any signs of distress.

 

[mfollen]

Ok. So this is likely to be free aluminum?

The coral have mostly looked ok. I’m not sure if the source is the media brick pieces or a stainless screw part of a piece of equipment above the tank (light fixture).

Thank you so much for your help. Want to make sure things don’t wither away while I’m out.

 

[Scott Campbell]

Ok. So this is likely to be free aluminum?

The coral have mostly looked ok. I’m not sure if the source is the media brick pieces or a stainless screw part of a piece of equipment above the tank (light fixture).

Thank you so much for your help. Want to make sure things don’t wither away while I’m out.

Certainly could be. But I can't imagine there would be anything to worry about short-term. Just deal with it after you get home. :)

 

[MartinWaite]

Sorry for surfacing an old thread but my first ICP results show sky high aluminum: 475 µg/l

I have three broken pieces of brightwell’s Xport brick in a 25 gallon aquarium.

Has there been confirmation that this brick leaches aluminum?

I just left for vacation (of course) got the results and have been researching.

Should I call someone to remove the bricks from my aquarium?

Ughh not how I wanted to start off this trip.

Unless you have a few leather corals you probably won't even notice the aluminium level in your tank and too be honest you probably would have seen a problem with your tank before you went on your trip so don't worry about it. There is loads of people who have the alleged alum releasing blocks in there tanks and don't have any alum readings. I did read something somewhere that it's something to do with the way the ICP test is done that causes the high alum readings in some tests and not in others.
Enjoy your trip and don't worry about it it's not killing anything.

 

[mfollen]

Thank you so much everyone!! You definitely helped me get back in the vacation mindset! Will stay the course and resolve the issues when I get back.

 

[jason2459]

I guess as a follow up. I still have all the same media I added throughout this thread minus one block.

A couple months ago I moved the tank and sump locations in the house. The blocks definitely eroded some and one of the blocks broke apart as I was lifting it out. I threw that one away. The plate and media I put in bags have held up pretty well. They all still hold a ton of water.

I did get an ICP OES test done and does not show any detectable Al.




Can see this side is eroded pretty bad on the block vs the other side of it


But it has some erosion as well.

 

[mosreef]

I guess as a follow up. I still have all the same media I added throughout this thread minus one block.

I did get an ICP OES test done and does not show any detectable Al.

Thank you for this follow up, and for the whole thread. I have a lot of Marinepure media and this really puts my mind at ease, so thanks.

Did you see this thread on 30ppi foam? And pot scrubbers? I was wondering the same thing about those - if they would leach something nasty over time. Any opinions?

 

[buruskeee]

Hmm. I guess this is why I showed quite a bit of aluminum. This is an ICP done 2 months after setting the tank up and about 6 weeks after adding 2 marine pure 1” thick plates to my sump in a 150g system. I’m ready to do another ICP soon so it’s going to be nice to see what amounts are still in the tank.