How to Tell if Equipment is Leeching Metals

[DocRose]

I recently found out my DI Resin was bad (I couldn’t actually SEE my RO/DI unit due to its positioning), and had chrysophytes booming in my tanks. I got the media changed, but out of curiosity it took a TDS meter reading of my tank’s top off water reservoirs (that still had water from before I changed the RO/DI media). My 29 gallon’s 5 gallon bucket (which was half full) only read 6 TDS, but my 55 gallon’s 10 gallon reservoir (a little more than half full) read 63 TDS.

The differences between the two is their size, the smaller one is a 5 gallon pickle bucket, the larger is a acrylic reservoir from BRS, the smaller one is a gravity system with a float valve and the larger one has a TUNZE ATO system.

I’m worried that the higher reading in the larger one is because the TUNZE pump is leeching metal. Is it possible? And if so how can I test to see if it is?

 

[The_Paradox]

Flush both systems and refill them from same source with same transfer mechanism. Wait a week and take two samples for ICP testing.

 

[DocRose]

Flush both systems and refill them from same source with same transfer mechanism. Wait a week and take two samples for ICP testing.

I already flushed and refilled the smaller one. I was just about to do the larger one but that’s when I thought maybe the pump was an issue and decided to reach out before flushing it.

Update. Tested the larger reservoir again today and it reads 77 TDS, but when I move the meter closer to the pump it reads 84.

 

[The_Paradox]

Everything breaks down and slowly sluffs off particles. The question is what kind of particles.

 

[jda]

The magnets in tunze pumps are ceramic. They are not metallic. You can sometimes see rust or other color on them, but they just attracted it.

Heavy metals are more likely to come in from food. Most bind to organics and get skimmed out of the tank - a great reason to have a skimmer.

Even magnets that have rusted and flaked do not appear to put any metals into the tank. Most alloys do not break down in our lifetimes. Powder and metals that are already dissolved can be an issue.

If you ever had a drop or two of salt in one container, your TDS can be off the charts. I use brute cans for both saltwater and RODI and if I mix salt and then rinse it with a garden hose and let it dry, it will read like 20 TDS when the water coming out of the unit is a zero or one.

 

[Cichlid Dad]

The magnets in tunze pumps are ceramic. They are not metallic. You can sometimes see rust or other color on them, but they just attracted it.

Heavy metals are more likely to come in from food. Most bind to organics and get skimmed out of the tank - a great reason to have a skimmer.

Even magnets that have rusted and flaked do not appear to put any metals into the tank. Most alloys do not break down in our lifetimes. Powder and metals that are already dissolved can be an issue.

If you ever had a drop or two of salt in one container, your TDS can be off the charts. I use brute cans for both saltwater and RODI and if I mix salt and then rinse it with a garden hose and let it dry, it will read like 20 TDS when the water coming out of the unit is a zero or one.

Good information thank you