How much Aluminum will it leach? Let's guess

[Scott Campbell]

I tried to eliminate particulates from getting in the sample through a 24hour settling and filtered with a 1um filter. Maybe I should have used my .25um filter?

But all possibilities and will find out again with another test with a newer brick.

Brightwell said they had production issues causing some fall apart easier and to leach. The brick that is in my sump does seem to erode more then the plate I have.

If the silica and aluminum both dropped significantly and in similar ratios with a better filter then that would be a strong indication you are probably looking at particulate matter. I have no clue how small a filter you would need. Thanks for the testing!! Very cool.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

If the silica and aluminum both dropped significantly and in similar ratios with a better filter then that would be a strong indication you are probably looking at particulate matter. I have no clue how small a filter you would need. Thanks for the testing!! Very cool.

When I did my testing of Phosguard years ago, I used a 0.45 micron filter. They don't get a lot smaller unless you want to use a dialysis membrane.

 

[jason2459]

I have some .25um syringe filters. But they aren't cheap.


Maybe they are .2um and 25mm diameter. Something close to very small.

 

[becks]

It maybe worth removing my brightwells brick then, it's frustrating that they can openly mislead people with their products.

 

[schooncw]

Following and just about to read this long thread. I put 3 Xport NO3 dimpled bricks in my 120 3 weeks ago.

 

[jason2459]

It maybe worth removing my brightwells brick then, it's frustrating that they can openly mislead people with their products.

It's far from the first product that's labeled under brightwell with false or misleading claims.

It's also far from the first company to do so as well.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

Update on the new MarinePure block results?

 

[pfoxgrover]

Did you guys see this from a while back?

Is Marine Pure effective at reducing nitrates? We learn some valuable lessons. | BRStv Investigate

Got the Triton results back today. Again all of these tanks were fed close to identical amounts food, no other inputs and zero water changes over a couple month period of time. Pretty much confirms the results others have had. All of the marine pure tanks were significantly higher than the control.

Control with no marine pure 1.64 ug/l
Large marine pure block 51.00 ug/l
Marine pure plate 174 ug/l
Marine pure sphears 32.00 ug/l

I think we are in the same place. While there are some ideas it's not entirely clear why seemingly only a fraction of people have had issues. Could be a simple as the attention to rinsing. Could also be anecdotal and the aluminum isn't actually in a toxic or an available form in the tank. Could be just soft corals are impacted. Lots of different things. I think thought leaders like Randy Holmes-Farley have certainly demonstrated the potential toxicity of aluminum.

So I think the real question is why use marine pure at all? The primary reason was to add high-density filtration the tank but there are other ways to achieve that goal so I am not sure that is good enough considering the unknowns related to aluminum. The other reason is reefers claim rapid results lowering nitrates by simply adding this media to the tank. If it is really that easy I think that's pretty compelling. I have always had my doubts about the media's ability to do that and in this experiment, it certainly didn't seem to achieve that goal. We are working on a revision to that experiment in a bit more realistic envisionment. Hopefully in a few months we will be able to shed additional light on that. We are also curing multiple MP blocks prior so I think we will get a window into if this is an ongoing issue or an initial issue, potentially related to rinsing the duty fines from transport.

 

[Bob Escher]

This can’t be a initial issue as I had the blocks and balls in my tank for almost a year when I did the triton tests and my aluminum readings were off the chart

 

[Joe Rice]

I have an 8" x 8" x 4" MarinePure block in my sump in a spot that gets extremely low flow - probably less than is possible in most sumps as the eShoppe sump I use is designed to provide quite low flow to the refugium and my MarinePure block is at the back of the refugium and the sump is dense with caulerpa.

I've done several ICP tests and my aluminum has never tested above 0.08 ppm. And I've rarely ever had a nitrate test that showed any detectable nitrates. Of course, I can't say for certain that the low nitrates is due to the MarinePure block but I'm not using bio-pellets or carbon dosing.

So perhaps I lucked into "best practice" for using a MarinePure block. I would imagine that the lower the flow through the block, the lower the leaching rate for the aluminum. And the instructions do say that nitrate reduction requires the block to be in a low flow area.

Anyway, just wanted to add that data point to the discussion.

 

[HmoneyReefOkc]

I have 25 marine pure 8”by 8” by 4” blocks in my tank and nothing but positive results.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

I have 25 marine pure 8”by 8” by 4” blocks in my tank and nothing but positive results.

Must be one whopping big tank [emoji23]

What other nutrient export methods do you use? Do you have leather corals?

 

[Joe Rice]

I have 25 marine pure 8”by 8” by 4” blocks in my tank and nothing but positive results.

Lol, just read your build thread. I'd assumed 25 was a typo and you just meant to type 2 but now I see that you truly did mean 25! Awesome build!

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

I have 25 marine pure 8”by 8” by 4” blocks in my tank and nothing but positive results.

I see you have said elsewhere that ".... and I run a large GFO reactor..."

That could contribute to a lack of aluminum issue in your tank, if the GFO is binding up the aluminum.

 

[HmoneyReefOkc]

Thanks for checking it out Zirco. I have a very large skimmer, and while I have always run large GFO reactors I currently just have my reactors plumbed in but not yet hooked up on this tank. Still not showing any negative results with my leather corals, zoa, palys, and SPS. I guess one could say my sinulara and toadstools polyp out a bit less but i wouldn’t consider that negative results.

 

[yacn]

I put one of their larger blocks in my sump about 2 years ago. I haven't noticed any difference

should I pull it out of my sump or leave it? I haven't measured for aluminum nor will I .... I'm using it to hold up my reef octopus skimmer at the height they recommend

 

[NowGlazeIT]

The Triton folks believe they see that aluminum is bound by GFO, but I've not seen any data.

Has there been Any follow up on this subject?

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

Has there been Any follow up on this subject?

I've never seen data, but Triton still actively recommends GFO to reduce aluminum.

 

[Cresta]

Since both Brightwell and MarinePure are baked ceramic medias that leech aluminum, would other media such as Eheim Ehfimech and Substrat Pro also leech similar mineral sooner or later? I think Eheim is also baked ceramics.

 

[Cresta]

double post

 

[Mark Gray]

Since both Brightwell and MarinePure are baked ceramic medias that leech aluminum, would other media such as Eheim Ehfimech and Substrat Pro also leech similar mineral sooner or later? I think Eheim is also baked ceramics.

Good point the frag plugs are also baked ceramic