ICP Result Confusion

JamieC

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Hello,

I just got my ICP results back and honestly have no clue if they are good or bad. ICP Analysis only made 3 elements yellow…Fe, Co, and Mn.

My tank is bare bottom, has 70 gallons of water volume, and is predominately LPS. I use Tropic Marin Pro Reef and dose All For Reef. I target feed with Reef Roids and Red Sea AB+. I also dose Lugol’s every other day. My coral have fantastic coloration, polyp extension, growth, and look healthy. I feed my fish a mix of frozen, pellets, and flakes…no more than they can - eat avoiding excess waste.

I regularly test…Alk, salinity, Ca, Mg, NO3, PO4, and Iodine/Iodide. I knew my Ca was a little high…but am shocked that my ICP Phosphorus was 766 ppm! I know phosphate is different…but I barely get PO4 values using my Hanna ULR PO4 kit…usually .03-.07.

What I’m really unsure about is how to interpret all these other trace elements/metals that seem really high to me…like a Titanium value of 1224ppb. I have a titanium heater?

Is anyone well enough versed to review my values and provide a little feedback?

I greatly appreciate any assistance.

Test598309485_Results.jpeg
 

wmb0003

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That ICP analysis company doesn’t have a very good reputation for good results. Personally I wouldn’t really trust their results without another test from ATI or Triton to compare.
 

taricha

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I'll give an opinion on some of these.

but am shocked that my ICP Phosphorus was 766 ppm! I know phosphate is different…but I barely get PO4 values using my Hanna ULR PO4 kit…usually .03-.07.

Phosphorus - I've received measurement before where this vendor reported nonsense high P. Iodine was being dosed there too.
Christoph has pointed out these two elements can interfere
Since ICP emission lines for phosphorus and iodine are very close together at 178 nm i think the iodine result will be an interference caused by the phosphorus concentration.

The analytical chemist must keep an eye on these spectral interferences when conducting ICP-OES.
You have reliable chemical test (hanna) telling you what the PO4 actually is. You should ignore this nonsense ICP result.


ICP Analysis only made 3 elements yellow…Fe, Co, and Mn.
Fe, Co, and Mn are all fine values: they might or might not be zero (within the test uncertainty) and that's OK. No idea why they'd give you a warning light on those.

Rubidium is also nonsense. They have a huge uncertainty for that, and are reporting a number that looks big, but is below their uncertainty. Other vendors don't report it for this reason.

Are Selenium and Titanium real? Could they actually be elevated?
I don't know. I don't remember seeing them that high before, and the Titanium has a potential source you identified. I'd get a second opinion from a different ICP-vendor. Other vendors are far stingier with handing out numbers for these trace elements and will usually just give zeros unless they are confident.

The bottom line for me is this:
I use Tropic Marin Pro Reef and dose All For Reef. I target feed with Reef Roids and Red Sea AB+. I also dose Lugol’s every other day. My coral have fantastic coloration, polyp extension, growth, and look healthy. I feed my fish a mix of frozen, pellets, and flakes…no more than they can - eat avoiding excess waste.

I regularly test…Alk, salinity, Ca, Mg, NO3, PO4, and Iodine/Iodide.

You already have considerable chemical data and biological observations that tell you that your system is healthy. So if there are any issues to be addressed, they will be minor.

@Dan_P and @Rick Mathew , interesting exercise in trying to make ICP-A data line up with the system it is measuring :)
 

Randy Holmes-Farley

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I do not know if the values are accurate, but nothing jumps out to me as a big concern even if accurate, expect possibly phosphate. Titanium looks unusually high, but it is not a typical ion to be concerned with.
 
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JamieC

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Thanks for the responses. I’ll get another test.

I changed my heater yesterday just in case. Went with old school Eheims…what I used forever but changed to hedge my bets towards durability.

In the event Ti is truly elevated, are increased volume water changes the appropriate course of action?
 

Randy Holmes-Farley

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Thanks for the responses. I’ll get another test.

I changed my heater yesterday just in case. Went with old school Eheims…what I used forever but changed to hedge my bets towards durability.

In the event Ti is truly elevated, are increased volume water changes the appropriate course of action?

I'm not sure I'd do anything about it, but water changes would be the way to lower it (assuming the salt mix is lower).
 

Dan_P

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I'll give an opinion on some of these.



Phosphorus - I've received measurement before where this vendor reported nonsense high P. Iodine was being dosed there too.
Christoph has pointed out these two elements can interfere

You have reliable chemical test (hanna) telling you what the PO4 actually is. You should ignore this nonsense ICP result.



Fe, Co, and Mn are all fine values: they might or might not be zero (within the test uncertainty) and that's OK. No idea why they'd give you a warning light on those.

Rubidium is also nonsense. They have a huge uncertainty for that, and are reporting a number that looks big, but is below their uncertainty. Other vendors don't report it for this reason.

Are Selenium and Titanium real? Could they actually be elevated?
I don't know. I don't remember seeing them that high before, and the Titanium has a potential source you identified. I'd get a second opinion from a different ICP-vendor. Other vendors are far stingier with handing out numbers for these trace elements and will usually just give zeros unless they are confident.

The bottom line for me is this:


You already have considerable chemical data and biological observations that tell you that your system is healthy. So if there are any issues to be addressed, they will be minor.

@Dan_P and @Rick Mathew , interesting exercise in trying to make ICP-A data line up with the system it is measuring :)
When I was overdosing Chaeto Gro, my snails told me to back off not an ICP test :) Everyone needs a “canary in the coal mine” in their system.
 

Rick Mathew

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Hello,

I just got my ICP results back and honestly have no clue if they are good or bad. ICP Analysis only made 3 elements yellow…Fe, Co, and Mn.

My tank is bare bottom, has 70 gallons of water volume, and is predominately LPS. I use Tropic Marin Pro Reef and dose All For Reef. I target feed with Reef Roids and Red Sea AB+. I also dose Lugol’s every other day. My coral have fantastic coloration, polyp extension, growth, and look healthy. I feed my fish a mix of frozen, pellets, and flakes…no more than they can - eat avoiding excess waste.

I regularly test…Alk, salinity, Ca, Mg, NO3, PO4, and Iodine/Iodide. I knew my Ca was a little high…but am shocked that my ICP Phosphorus was 766 ppm! I know phosphate is different…but I barely get PO4 values using my Hanna ULR PO4 kit…usually .03-.07.

What I’m really unsure about is how to interpret all these other trace elements/metals that seem really high to me…like a Titanium value of 1224ppb. I have a titanium heater?

Is anyone well enough versed to review my values and provide a little feedback?

I greatly appreciate any assistance.

Test598309485_Results.jpeg

In my opinion I would be very cautious about making any adjustments to your system using this data. If your data and observations are telling you every thing is well...Trust it as @taricha and @Dan_P said...Just my opinion

Rick
 
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