Triton Resutls

[maroun.c]

Appreciate your input about below Triton results, What to worry about and what not.
Also any input about my correction plan

SN: Tin not Strontium right? Any idea what caused it and how to deal with it?
Will a heavy metal resin like Cuprisorb take it out? any advice what to watch out for?
Ca: is a mishap and inline with my tests so will correct.
B: Boron? is it important? Anyneed to adjust and how?
SR: Strontium at 1/4 of set point why not a yellow or red indicator?
S: Sulfur at 140 less than set point? need to correct? how

Ba Barium at 128 instead of setpoint 118 and flagged red is this important?any idea what caused it?

Thanks for any help or suggestions.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

Yes, Sn is tin and at that level I wouldn't worry much. I'm not sure of the best way to get rid of it, but the metal binding media may help.

Boron as borate helps keep the pH more stable, but is not very important, IMO. Adding some borax will boost it.

I do not consider strontium useful, but I cannot say why Triton colors it the way they do. It is obviously substantially low.

Sulfur is present as sulfate. It is possibly low if salinity is low, and/or because of calcium chloride dosing without added sulfate (like Epsom Salt).

 

[maroun.c]

Thanks for all the info Randy.
Wow was our anxious to understand those than when waiting for blood test results

 

[drernesto]

Always amazing us in Lebanon! The only tested Lebanese reef by Triton.

 

[Kungpaoshizi]

What salt are you using btw? Do you have pvc tubing incorporated into your setup?

Also strontium has been suspected to be purposely incorporated from what's been seen in research so far in the aragonite formation process, even to the point where a coral manipulates skeletal growth to incorporate or not. Might look into an additive if your salt doesn't provide enough. I think it makes a fair amount of sense that corals utilize it, it's easier to "manipulate".

In ground-breaking research, a team of scientists from Australia's ARC Center of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, at the University of Western Australia and France's Laboratoire des Sciences du Climat et de l'Environnement, has shown that some marine organisms that form calcium carbonate skeletons have an in-built mechanism to cope with ocean acidification - which others appear to lack. Marine organisms that form calcium carbonate skeletons generally produce it in one of two forms, known as aragonite and calcite. The team found that those with skeletons made of aragonite have the coping mechanism - while those that follow the calcite pathway generally do less well under more acidic conditions. "The good news is that most corals appear to have this internal ability to buffer rising acidity of seawater and still form good, solid skeletons," said Professor Malcolm McCulloch of CoECRS and UWA. The aragonite calcifiers - such as the well-known corals Porites and Acropora - have molecular ‘pumps' that enable them to regulate their internal acid balance, which buffers them from the external changes in seawater pH. Read more from Asian Scientist Magazine at: http://www.asianscientist.com/2012/...t-to-ocean-acidification-global-warming-2012/

Another couple points of interest that suggests incorporation or avoidance of strontium is not "chance":
Many marine organisms, including corals, build skeletons from calcium carbonate – in the form of calcite or aragonite. The current composition of seawater favors the formation of aragonite – but soft corals have a specific protein that allows them to form calcite skeletons instead.
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/08/110816120828.htm

Effect of light and temperature on calcification and strontium uptake in the scleractinian coral Acropora verweyi
https://www.researchgate.net/public...e_in_the_scleractinian_coral_Acropora_verweyi

Using scanning electron microscopy, we observed different crystal morphologies of aragonite and calcite in a single juvenile skeleton. Quantitative analysis using X-ray diffraction showed that the majority of the skeleton was composed of aragonite even though we had exposed the juveniles to manipulated seawater before their initial crystal nucleation and growth processes. Our results indicate that the modern scleractinian coral Acropora mainly produces aragonite skeletons in both aragonite and calcite seas, but also has the ability to use calcite for part of its skeletal growth when incubated in calcite seas.
http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0091021

However, the change in atomic arrangements does change the list of impurities that can be easily included in aragonite. While calcite is commonly riddled with magnesium atoms, aragonite is typically found to be riddled with strontium atoms instead. Elements like barium and lead and a few others are also mixed in at times, but strontium is the most common of the bunch.
http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2011/10/chemistry

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

Thanks for all the info Randy.
Wow was our anxious to understand those than when waiting for blood test results

You're welcome.

Glad you didn't have any serious diseases.

 

[maroun.c]

LOL.
Thanks for all the links, very informative.
I was using DD for the first couple of years and shifted to Marine life (Dejong Salt ) couple of yrs back.
No PVC incorporated in the setup but yes a lot of tubing (around 150 ft of 1-1.5 inch tubes) is this about tin? Setup was running for around 5 yrs with massive water changes at times to deal with issues I had so doubt they're still leaching anything ???
Any info on what might have brought tin?
Borax? Is this the washing detergent aid or should I look for a more pure source ?
One last question about dosing to make sure I don't overshoot, for strontium to raise from 2 to 8mg/l for 3000 litres it's 6X3000/1000=18 g only?
Thanks

 

[Kungpaoshizi]

I try to be

And yes, the tin question surrounded the pvc tangent some thought it could be when Triton first came around.
Do you have black sand by chance?
Borax is the detergent stuff yes, I would probably look at the Triton supplements to get Boron.
For dosing strontium which product are you using? Here's some links to couple products..
https://www.saltwaterfish.com/product-seachem-reef-strontium
http://aquarium.bulkreefsupply.com/reefing/Dosing-Strontium

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

LOL.
Thanks for all the links, very informative.
I was using DD for the first couple of years and shifted to Marine life (Dejong Salt ) couple of yrs back.
No PVC incorporated in the setup but yes a lot of tubing (around 150 ft of 1-1.5 inch tubes) is this about tin? Setup was running for around 5 yrs with massive water changes at times to deal with issues I had so doubt they're still leaching anything ???
Any info on what might have brought tin?
Borax? Is this the washing detergent aid or should I look for a more pure source ?
One last question about dosing to make sure I don't overshoot, for strontium to raise from 2 to 8mg/l for 3000 litres it's 6X3000/1000=18 g only?
Thanks

Apparently, some hard PVC has tin plasticizers, but I'm not sure that is ever a source for us. There are different forms of tin, so it is hard to say too much about it in terms of tox.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

LOL.
One last question about dosing to make sure I don't overshoot, for strontium to raise from 2 to 8mg/l for 3000 litres it's 6X3000/1000=18 g only?
Thanks

It certainly won't hurt to dose it, but I probably wouldn't make it a priority since I've never seen convincing evidence it is useful for all except some organisms that reefers do not usually keep (see article below) and many great tanks never supplement it. It was a fad for a good while, but many advanced reefers stopped dosing and saw no difference

That said, that calculation is correct for the strontium part, although any strontium solid must have counterions, usually chloride. So it will take more than 18 g. .

I discuss it here:

Aquarium Chemistry: Strontium and the Reef Aquarium ? Advanced Aquarist | Aquarist Magazine and Blog
http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2003/11/chemistry

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

LOL.
Thanks for all the links, very informative.
I was using DD for the first couple of years and shifted to Marine life (Dejong Salt ) couple of yrs back.
No PVC incorporated in the setup but yes a lot of tubing (around 150 ft of 1-1.5 inch tubes) is this about tin? Setup was running for around 5 yrs with massive water changes at times to deal with issues I had so doubt they're still leaching anything ???
Any info on what might have brought tin?
Borax? Is this the washing detergent aid or should I look for a more pure source ?
One last question about dosing to make sure I don't overshoot, for strontium to raise from 2 to 8mg/l for 3000 litres it's 6X3000/1000=18 g only?
Thanks

Yes, the detergent type, but you can use specific supplements, food grade borax online (it's cheap) or just use certain alk supplements which contain it, such as Seachem Marine Buffer.

Here's a cheap place to buy food grade:

http://www.sciencecompany.com/-P165...V5jqqJ-rK12c3xQumWUyPNUPM2WqwvKJpwRoCCV_w_wcB

 

[maroun.c]

I try to be

And yes, the tin question surrounded the pvc tangent some thought it could be when Triton first came around.
Do you have black sand by chance?
Borax is the detergent stuff yes, I would probably look at the Triton supplements to get Boron.
For dosing strontium which product are you using? Here's some links to couple products..
https://www.saltwaterfish.com/product-seachem-reef-strontium
http://aquarium.bulkreefsupply.com/reefing/Dosing-Strontium

No black Sand, couple of ceramic islands but cured before putting in tank and has been in tank for 4-5 yrs.
Will look at the triton supplements and try to order here, or maybe buy when on travel as chemicals are a hassle with customs...
Thanks.

 

[maroun.c]

It certainly won't hurt to dose it, but I probably wouldn't make it a priority since I've never seen convincing evidence it is useful for all except some organisms that reefers do not usually keep (see article below) and many great tanks never supplement it. It was a fad for a good while, but many advanced reefers stopped dosing and saw no difference

That said, that calculation is correct for the strontium part, although any strontium solid must have counterions, usually chloride. So it will take more than 18 g. .

I discuss it here:

Aquarium Chemistry: Strontium and the Reef Aquarium ? Advanced Aquarist | Aquarist Magazine and Blog
http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2003/11/chemistry

Won't obsess over it but will at least get it a bit higher to avoid a substantial deficiency. I do have loads of coralline growth which I suppose is the cause for the drop so maybe dosing a bit will make the coralline look even nicer.
Online calculator gave me 600 g plus hence my question. Thanks for the clarification.
Great link, thanks.

 

[maroun.c]

Yes, the detergent type, but you can use specific supplements, food grade borax online (it's cheap) or just use certain alk supplements which contain it, such as Seachem Marine Buffer.

Here's a cheap place to buy food grade:

http://www.sciencecompany.com/-P165...V5jqqJ-rK12c3xQumWUyPNUPM2WqwvKJpwRoCCV_w_wcB

Thanks again will try to get it from there.