How much Aluminum will it leach? Let's guess

[TbyZ]

What I do like about these blocks is size of the pores. I have noticed quite a few worms going in and out of them and pods crawling all over it. I don't believe sintered glass has that?

Perhaps too large to allow an effective anoxic zone to be created to facilitate de-nitrification?

In my experience, I had an 8x8x4 block in my sump, & an ATS running. The nitrates were fixed at 5 to 10 ppm.
I removed the block from the system, leaving just the ATS, & the nitrates fell to zero in a week.

In my case the block was acting as a nitrate factory.

On the box it comes in it does state - "Designed specifically to target ammonia and nitrite removal and minimizes nitrates."

 

[cubbyman60]

A little off topic: but, did anyone soak their blocks in a bottled bacteria like microbacter or pro bio before using. I just got a marine pure block and will add any observations to this thread.

 

[Reefcowboy]

In case it matters at this point, abrightwell makes bricks made of similar media and they claim it has no Al, so maybe that is a good alternative for the concerned ones.

On my end, Ive ran Marine Pure for a few years now and my sps tank does well. I will continue using it as I hate keeping high amounts of Lr in the display.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

A little off topic: but, did anyone soak their blocks in a bottled bacteria like microbacter or pro bio before using. I just got a marine pure block and will add any observations to this thread.

It seems to work well in terms of nitrification and denitrification without dosing that so I'm not sure it is unless you want it working faster than usual.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

In case it matters at this point, abrightwell makes bricks made of similar media and they claim it has no Al, so maybe that is a good alternative for the concerned ones.

Where do they say it doesn't contain aluminum? I've only seen them comment on some things it does contain (like aragonite or sulfur), but not what it is entirely made of.

 

[jason2459]

Where do they say it doesn't contain aluminum? I've only seen them comment on some things it does contain (like aragonite or sulfur), but not what it is entirely made of.

Kent actually stated it is a ceramic product among other funny marketing

Exxodus-Nitryx Plate, Sized 9" x 8" x 1.5" for Nitrate Reduction, 1 Plate
by Continuum Aquatics

Unique Ceramic material provides over 71,000 Square feet of surface area per liter
So Porous that it wicks water and stays wet for days when drained, allowing bacteria to stay viable
Also reduces phosphate significantly and dissolved organics


The interesting part is that's from earlier in this thread when it first came out. I'm glad I got a copy of that. Their new listing just says this

Features
Highest porosity and largest useable surface area, per unit weight or volume, of all filtration media available anywhere
Provides huge amounts of anaerobic surface area for efficient bacterial colonization for DE nitrification, along with sulfur doping to act as an electron donor to accelerate DE nitrification
Also reduces dissolved organics significantly and phosphate somewhat
So porous that it wicks water and stays wet for days when drained, allowing bacteria to remain viable after an equipment failure and ready for the repair.
Doped with Aragonite to buffer pH at bacteria level, preventing acid buildup which eventually would kill the bacteria and reduce capacity (which is what happens in competing products)

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B...etailBullets_secondary_view_div_1487079330065

 

[bif24701]

Wanted to share what I have seen with Marine Pure. I have 300G with 3 blocks and a 160G Frag System with two. 300G doesn't run Zeovit. I started the Frag system with Zeo but eventually gave it up. I haven't done a water change on either system since Jan 2016. The 300G has low flow through the blocks and the frag system has high flow. Also overskim on both.

Unfortunately, I don't have at triton test before putting in the blocks. If they do leach AL, at some point they stop. IMO the least of your worries. Zeovit seems to put way more AL into the system.

That's interesting information. You actually saw more AL with Zeo than the MarinePure? How do you feel about performance? When my system was fallow I had to add nitrates to keep any in my system (300g), seems my two blocks do an excellent job of ensure there isn't a build up. Now that my fish are back and I've been feeding very well my NO3 hasn't lifted at all from the 5ppm it was raised to before fish where added. I am very happy with the performance.

 

[bif24701]

Another advantage of using sintered glass, I can remove the media with no issue. I know what you're talking about, I do have a large marine pure block and yes it holds a massive amount of water but extremely brittle. Grasp it too firm and it'll just crumble leaving small fines all through the sump.

Sure. However my blocks just sit at the bottom of my large sump and never clog. I've never had any need to move them. Keep them away from vibrating equipment and direct flow and you won't ever need to touch them. Set and forget.

 

[cubbyman60]

It seems to work well in terms of nitrification and denitrification without dosing that so I'm not sure it is unless you want it working faster than usual.

Thank you.

 

[subielover]

Great thread, thank you all for taking the time to share!

 

[bif24701]

I want to add that I have added my third block about 3 weeks ago and still show no sings for irritation to any corals as far as I can see. Still have the color and growth as before (SPS, LPS, and some zoas).

I keep all three at the bottom of my 100 gallon (stock tank) sump with a RW-8 for flow. I turn the block so that the side with the larger hole faces up and lye flat.

I have to monitor NO3 pretty frequently to ensure that it doesn't drop below 5ppm. Now that I have added my friends fish back into the display and feed well (very very WELL) several times a day I have not seen an increase in NO3. In fact I recently added some more potassium nitrate to bump it up a bit.

 

[5280Reefer]

"What is MarinePure made of and will it leach anything into my water?

MarinePure is an inert aluminosilicate ceramic that has been fired over 1000°C. It will not leach into tank or pond water"

found this on the Marinepure site

 

[jason2459]

"What is MarinePure made of and will it leach anything into my water?

MarinePure is an inert aluminosilicate ceramic that has been fired over 1000°C. It will not leach into tank or pond water"

found this on the Marinepure site

Which is false.

 

[5280Reefer]

Which is false.

I know the leaching part, just wanted to show what they say it's made of.

 

[jason2459]

FYI, my Al levels are now right around 100ug/l.



There is absolutely no doubt now in my mind that the Marine Pure Blocks leach Al regardless of what their marketing says. What form or what kind of effects it has in a tank I do not know other then initial negative reactions of adding the blocks or disturbing them.


So, 1 month after adding a Marine Pure block the levels went from around 0-2ug/l (typical of IO as seen in my saltmix parameters thread) and climbed to around 19ug/l. About 4 months later having the blocks in the levels rose to ~100ug/l.

It's not something I expected to have he Al levels increase as much as that so I will have to do something different to test out the Brightwell bio block or plate. I will have to buy another one. There's way to much interference with the Marine Pure block in my tank to know which would be causing an increase if I do another Triton test.

1. Get a batch of saltwater mixed up and get a Triton test on it. (Will have to get another mix I haven't done yet to help my other saltmix parameter thread)
2. Get another block and let it sit in the bucket for 3 months with circulation going
3. Remove the block and get a Triton test
4. Run a good amount of GFO to see if it will bind Al. (assuming Al has increased a decent amount in those 3 months)
5. Let the GFO run for a couple weeks and get another Triton test.

FYI, I have begun the long running testing on particularly Brightwells new block by itself in a bucket, how much will it leach, and then find out how much GFO will reduce Al. If by chance the Brightwell block doesn't leach any significant Al then I'll add a Marine Pure block. And if for some reason it doesn't, add some phosgaurd. I may do the phosgaurd too if for some reason the Brightwell leaches Al but the GFO doesn't pick up any. In case the form of Al leached is different between the two and GFO is better at binding to one over the other? As Triton's claim to GFO is for the Al based phosphate removers and not these blocks.

Either way I'll have a bucket of water running in my basement lab for quite some time.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

Either way I'll have a bucket of water running in my basement lab for quite some time.

lol

 

[Mark Gray]

Does anyone remember the original stuff, Marineland sold it, remember the Bio Rocker? I ran one of those 20 years ago. I also have some blocks of the marine pure in my sump. Humm maybe but not sure if I should rethink this

 

[jason2459]

Does anyone remember the original stuff, Marineland sold it, remember the Bio Rocker? I ran one of those 20 years ago. I also have some blocks of the marine pure in my sump. Humm maybe but not sure if I should rethink this

Fwiw my yellow fiji leather took quite a while but has been looking just fine minus a little trouble with some lighting that's been fixed. My sponges for some reason also took a hit but looks like they are starting to grow back as well.


Just took this now.

 

[HmoneyReefOkc]

I've still got 8 large marine pure blocks running in my 350gallon system with no issues. I don't test for Al but I still think the only thing that hasn't thrived is leather corals such as finger leathers, nepthea, and toadstools. They still are alive but not thriving like everything else.

 

[MartinWaite]

I'll contribute my tank info. I've been running Marine block for a few years in all my tanks. No side effects. I do keep zoa, some leather and mushrooms. I do not get Triton tests. I switch out carbon and gfo every month since day 1. water change x2 a month

I read these side effects from an older thread awhile ago.. Even though I don't find any side effects with them, it still kinda scares me deep down. So i might be switching to Siporax just for a peace of mind.

1) 2yrs old 100gal anemone tank - (10 BTA, 1 MaxiMini, 1 Gig, 3 Haddoni) - two 8x4 marine block in the tank for 3 months now. No adverse effect on anemones
2) 1yr old 150gal SPS tank - mostly SPS with some zoas - two 8x4 marine block in the tank for 1 year now. No adverse effect on SPS and zoa
3) 6 month old 250gal LPS tank - leathers, mushroom, zoa, chalice, anemone - one 8x4 and 2 bags of sphere balls. No adverse effect on leathers and mushroom. My WWC bounce grows like a champ.

If you feel the need to change out the MarinePure you can always let them dry then post them on to me and I will make sure that they are given a good tank to help filter as I don't like waste and at £60 a block they are to expensive to waste.
Thanks all.