Rust - how bad is it?

[RaymondL]

Every pair of tongs or coral cutters I've had no matter how hard I try to keep it clean has rusted. Question is how bad is this in a marine tank and do I need to be of concern if such objects get into the tank?

 

[RedReefer]

I wouldn't use any tools or equipment with rust. Too much will cause water quality problems. I have removed rusting : frag rack magnets, bone cutters, tongs, powerheads. Rust will cause water quality issues..

 

[bluemon]

If it's straight iron oxide, I've never seen anything bad from it unless it is in excess as that is essentially what GFO is.

It is when it is rust from other metals that can contaminate tanks and kill corals sometimes

 

[Biokabe]

Depends on where the rust is and what that item is.

If it lives in the tank: Get it out. So a powerhead magnet, frag rack magnet, screw, hose clamp, etc - if it stays in the water it's not good to keep in. This is less because rust itself is bad, but more because we don't know what metals may be contained in those items, and so we could be damaging our livestock without knowing it.

If it's a tool? So long as its usable and is mostly used outside of the water you're not going to see much in the way of negatives from it. Tongs, cutters, blades, scrapers - if they live outside of the water and only interact with your tank when you're using it, the main downside with rust is just if it makes the tool harder to use.

You can usually clean off rust with citric acid, which you should have on hand as a pump cleaner anyhow.