Lithium Removal

[edosan]

Hi Randy / Group:

Is there a known way to remove lithium from a reef tank? I did a search and found several post, but non talking about a way to remove (for real) Li

Thanks in advance!

 

[edosan]

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/lithium.260578/#post-3094253
Found it

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

I'm not aware of any way to remove lithium that would be worthwhile. It is just so chemically similar to sodium.

If you really want to lower it, do a water change with a lower lithium salt mix. :)

 

[edosan]

Thanks Randy! Reading the other post I figure that is not a big deal to have 500 ug/l

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

You're welcome.

Happy Reefing. :)

 

[benwilson3301]

I have a 150 gallon fish tank that has been running for two years now. I have always had some soft corals in it, mushrooms, toad stool, Clove polyps, wood polyps, etc, along with a rose tipped anenome. They are all doing fine, thriving and multiplying. When I started the tank it was to house a Tessalata eel, a large angel, a tang, and a lionfish. After the eel got his appetite back he would kill and eat one large fish per month. I tried to feed him well but nature was trying to teach me a lesson. After a year, since he was all that was left I finally broke down and removed him to a good home. Did a water change and bought a few fish. They all got a bacterial infection of some sort, usually pop eye, and died within a week. I thought this strange, so a waited a month and tried again, same story. All got an infection and died within a week. So I tried a few easy to care for fish, thinking I need to re-cycle the tank. All died, same thing. So I let the tank go fallow for six months, knowing that the nem should keep at least some bacteria going and tried fish again after. SAME THING! All my parameters are perfect. I have two other tanks that are doing amazing and have kept fish for a long time.

So I started looking for a source of the problem. I sent off a sample to Triton to have an ICP test ran. While waiting on the results I noticed that some of the beams of the stand were rusting and some rust was falling into the sump. I tarped off the sump and removed the rust. Then I painted the stand and put up a plastic ceiling so that rust would not be able to drop into the sump again. I got back the test from Triton and expected to see high Iron, but did not. They say elevated levels of Lithium, Barium, Silicone, and slightly elevated Phosphorus. I use PURA PhosLock as my GFO, I run carbon, I have a large skimmer, do water changes and run a cheato reactor.

Can you think of any reason that I have a tank that corals thrive and fish die so quickly? Im really at my wits end, I feel like this tank is cursed. I even have inverts doing well and multiplying.

Please help,
Ben