Silicates

[TheSheff]

Hello all, I have had my 80 gallon reef setup for about 6 months now, and have had nothing but issues and I believe I have finally found the source of my problems. I sent an ICP test and it seems that my source water has VERY high silicates and it exhausts my DI very quick. I will attach a picture of the results. What would y'all do in this situation? I do have fish and corals in the tank now. The fish are doing fine, but the corals are definitely not happy to say the least. Any other advice related to the other marked parameters would be appreciated as well. Just for reference, I have kept 2-3 successful reef tanks over the years, so I do generally know how things go. Thanks in advance!

 

[Lasse]

As I see it - your Si concentrations is high in the DT water but I have had 3 times more in my DT and did not have problems with my corals. However - you need to use a good DI resin and change it rather often.

IMO - your Iodine levels is more problematic.

Sincerely Lasse

 

[TheSheff]

As I see it - your Si concentrations is high in the DT water but I have had 3 times more in my DT and did not have problems with my corals. However - you need to use a good DI resin and change it rather often.

IMO - your Iodine levels is more problematic.

Sincerely Lasse

Understood. The recommended value for the silicates in the RODI water kind of freaked me out. What's the best way to lower my iodine? I know it says use activated carbon, but is there any other things that would help? I actually bought the triple DI saver kit from BRS to help, so hopefully that solves that issue. Any other parameters besides the Iodine that I should be worried about the most?

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

Well, activated carbon wont significantly remove iodide or iodate from seawater. Don’t take chemistry advice from folks who say it does, because it shows a lack of understanding of what the iodine number of GAC is.

Can you list everything you dose to the tank?

 

[Lasse]

Any other parameters besides the Iodine that I should be worried about the most?

Not directly - However - I as a person prefer a little bit higher PO4

I actually bought the triple DI saver kit from BRS to help, so hopefully that solves that issue.

For me - its like to use a bunker buster in order to kill an ant - yes - it will help

Sincerely Lasse

 

[TheSheff]

Well, activated carbon wont significantly remove iodide or iodate from seawater. Don’t take chemistry advice from folks who say it does, because it shows a lack of understanding of what the iodine number of GAC is.

Can you list everything you dose to the tank?

Sorry for the late response, but I was dosing 3 drops of AF Build daily, and 3ml of FlatwormStop. I also dose kalkwasser on a doser at 1 ml/min 24/7. The salt I use is the Aquaforest Reef Salt, and I do a water change (15-20%) monthly. I stopped the AF Build after the ICP test because I think it is what was contributing to my high iodine.

 

[TheSheff]

Not directly - However - I as a person prefer a little bit higher PO4



For me - its like to use a bunker buster in order to kill an ant - yes - it will help

Sincerely Lasse

Yeah the triple DI saver is actually bigger than my whole RODI system (twist-in unit), so I'm hoping silicates won't be an issue again.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

Sorry for the late response, but I was dosing 3 drops of AF Build daily, and 3ml of FlatwormStop. I also dose kalkwasser on a doser at 1 ml/min 24/7. The salt I use is the Aquaforest Reef Salt, and I do a water change (15-20%) monthly. I stopped the AF Build after the ICP test because I think it is what was contributing to my high iodine.

I would definitely stop the AF build. I'm not sure I would recommend it for any tank based on the unclear description, but iodide is the main ingredient they indicate.

Aquaforest AF Build – accelerates calcification​

Regular usage of AF Build prevents unfavourable fluctuations of pH levels and, by balancing the parameters in the aquarium, it improves the clarity of water and supports the growth of corals. Due to its unique properties, AF Build reduces the amount of lower-order algae and inhibits the growth of pathogenic cyanobacteria. Decomposing food may be one of the causes of the drop in pH, therefore AF Build should be used during intensive coral feeding, especially when using a highly nutritional AF Energy supplement. AF Build contains: iodides, calcium carbonate.

 

[TheSheff]

I would definitely stop the AF build. I'm not sure I would recommend it for any tank based on the unclear description, but iodide is the main ingredient they indicate.

Aquaforest AF Build – accelerates calcification​

Regular usage of AF Build prevents unfavourable fluctuations of pH levels and, by balancing the parameters in the aquarium, it improves the clarity of water and supports the growth of corals. Due to its unique properties, AF Build reduces the amount of lower-order algae and inhibits the growth of pathogenic cyanobacteria. Decomposing food may be one of the causes of the drop in pH, therefore AF Build should be used during intensive coral feeding, especially when using a highly nutritional AF Energy supplement. AF Build contains: iodides, calcium carbonate.

Will do! Id assume the other elevated levels are from the salt as I haven't added anything else. I bought the AF Build when my corals were struggling a little, so it was a hail Mary lol. Would you just suggest water changes to get the levels to what they should be? I have instant ocean reef crystals I could use if you think it is the salt causing issues.

 

[Lasse]

I have instant ocean reef crystals

@Randy Holmes-Farley - long back in my memorial bark I have feeling that it has been mentioned before that Instant ocean reef crystal is high in iodine - correct me if I´m wrong.

Sincerely Lasse

 

[TheSheff]

@Randy Holmes-Farley

I just looked it up, and compared both salts. It looks like both have concentrations of iodine, but Aquaforest seems to have higher levels. I do think majority of my iodine was coming from the AF Build though.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

@Randy Holmes-Farley - long back in my memorial bark I have feeling that it has been mentioned before that Instant ocean reef crystal is high in iodine - correct me if I´m wrong.

Sincerely Lasse

Not sure what you have seen in the past, but rtparty’s salt study should that RC had about 3x normal iodine.

The Ultimate Salt Test

I wanted to get this thread up and going before the holidays soak up all my time. I did a live YouTube with Deven from ReefDudes going over things but it is about 1.5 hours long. I will write up a more detailed explanation here in this first post soon. I am a hobbyist first and foremost. I have...

www.reef2reef.com

 

[Lasse]

Not sure what you have seen in the past, but rtparty’s salt study should that RC had about 3x normal iodine.

The Ultimate Salt Test

I wanted to get this thread up and going before the holidays soak up all my time. I did a live YouTube with Deven from ReefDudes going over things but it is about 1.5 hours long. I will write up a more detailed explanation here in this first post soon. I am a hobbyist first and foremost. I have...

www.reef2reef.com

I think it was an off record comments from Triton back in 2018 - 2019 that they have seen high Iodine concentrations in US samples and thought it was because of RC.

I just looked it up, and compared both salts. It looks like both have concentrations of iodine, but Aquaforest seems to have higher levels. I do think majority of my iodine was coming from the AF Build though.

I´m sorry - I - of some reasons - was under the impression that you use Instant ocean reef crystal not aquaforrest - that´s the reason why I brought it up

rtparty´s rest show normal concentrations of iodine in 2 AF salt - 47.41 and 53.26 μg/l - according to his test - AF is good to use in your case



Sincerely Lasse

 

[TheSheff]

Not sure what you have seen in the past, but rtparty’s salt study should that RC had about 3x normal iodine.

The Ultimate Salt Test

I wanted to get this thread up and going before the holidays soak up all my time. I did a live YouTube with Deven from ReefDudes going over things but it is about 1.5 hours long. I will write up a more detailed explanation here in this first post soon. I am a hobbyist first and foremost. I have...

www.reef2reef.com

Wow, that's concerning. I'll definitely be switching to reef crystals

 

[TheSheff]

I think it was an off record comments from Triton back in 2018 - 2019 that they have seen high Iodine concentrations in US samples and thought it was because of RC.


I´m sorry - I - of some reasons - was under the impression that you use Instant ocean reef crystal not aquaforrest - that´s the reason why I brought it up

rtparty´s rest show normal concentrations of iodine in 2 AF salt - 47.41 and 53.26 μg/l - according to his test - AF is good to use in your case



Sincerely Lasse

You good lol, I had just mentioned that I had some reef crystals if RHF recommended me switching salts.

 

[Lasse]

Wow, that's concerning. I'll definitely be switching to reef crystals

Why - due to its high iodine content, it will worsen your problem

Sincerely Lasse

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

Why - due to its high iodine content, it will worsen your problem

Sincerely Lasse

A water change with it would lower iodine, but not by as much as a lower iodine mix will.

 

[Vested]

These are results of your RODI water not the display think some may be confused. The obvious answer is your rodi is not functioning correctly at all or you sampled incorrectly.

Do you also have the results of your display tanks water? Iodine around 200 is not a problem in the display, it is a problem that your rodi is not working at all.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

These are results of your RODI water not the display think some may be confused. The obvious answer is your rodi is not functioning correctly at all or you sampled incorrectly.

Do you also have the results of your display tanks water? Iodine around 200 is not a problem in the display, it is a problem that your rodi is not working at all.

I don’t think that’s what is being shown. The second page looks like tank numbers, not an extension of the first page ro/di.

 

[Lasse]

A water change with it would lower iodine, but not by as much as a lower iodine mix will.

My bad - should be - not solve your problem

I don’t think that’s what is being shown. The second page looks like tank numbers, not an extension of the first page ro/di.

Yes - the problem with the RO is Si - everything else is not detectable.

The iodine of 236.9 µg/L is from the display

Sincerely Lasse