Has anyone had water tested via Triton Labs (UniqueCorals.com)?

[thereefkeeper]

My results.

Not sure why everyone is showing tin in their levels and I'm not sold on it mysteriously ending up in the tank from hose clamps even tho your reason above could quite possibly be your tin issue (hose clamps) imo I bet it's coming out of city water supplies or some other additive that's commonly used. I don't use any GFO,Carbon or Bio Pellets ever skimmer only.
Red Sea coral pro salt
5 gallon waterchanges once a month


I'm not doing a thing to my tank what I'm doing seems to be working and everything is thriving now I got confirmation of everything in my water I intend on testing in another 6mo.

 

[drsalomon]

Tin is a mystery and hose clamps are my hypothesis. I suppose i am guessing my 0tds RODI water has no tin but perhaps levels below tds detection. It also may come from kalk but brs kalk in others tank is not giving high tin. Your results are great. Are you dosing iodine?

 

[reefstarter]

I have a theory of how tin gets in there . well a couple actually . magnets from pumps etc and or if anyone is using baking soda and cooking it on a cookie sheet . just a theory . Lead I am not so sure about . I know a lot of plumbing parts valves etc use lead in the brass to make it more ummm soft and bond better with solder . but that SHOULD be taken out by the Ro/DI right ?

 

[s_kelley]

Think I'd go crazy and my ocd would kick in if I knew my exact numbers
Great thread tho

 

[drsalomon]

Definitely feel strong ocd tendencies with triton. For all we know it is just tin and not organotin. Ablative paint on boat bottoms can be tributyltin which is highly toxic similar to copper. Icp does not tell you anything about the form of the metal which is critical for toxicity. Pump magnets are definitely a possible source.

 

[reefkeeper2]

The high level of tin seems to be common with a lot of people. The lead has me stumped. I don't even know if the amount present is enough to adversly affect the animals. If I had a test kit maybe I could track it down.

 

[delta]

My first thought is to send a sample of freshly mixed water and see what that return. then you have a better picture.

If it still show up then test your fresh water supply.

 

[delta]

Then again there is this test that may give you some insight
http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2005/11/aafeature1
http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2005/12/aafeature1

 

[reefkeeper2]

I thought of sending a freshly made water sample too but after seeing results of a lot of other people who use the same salt I figured it would be a waste of money. No one else is showing any lead.

 

[zkilloy]

Tin and lead are in solder used for copper plumbing. Older plumbing used 60/40 SN/PB solder. Typical lead free solder is 99.5% tin. I could see how it could accumulate in tank water after a while even when topping off with RO/DI water

 

[thereefkeeper]

Tin and lead are in solder used for copper plumbing. Older plumbing used 60/40 SN/PB solder. Typical lead free solder is 99.5% tin. I could see how it could accumulate in tank water after a while even when topping off with RO/DI water

Very good point and exactly what I was thinking old piping etc. I have all new pex so metal stops at the street with me. Not to mention I'm kinda ocd myself and have 9 stages of rodi lol 4 being DI I ruel as many tank issus out a possible from the bottom up and DI cartages are so cheap it's not with skimping on em.

I'm happy my triton test has no tin my ocd is calm now no need to test any more lol.

 

[mbian112283]

9 stages. Wow!!! I defiantly like multi stage di. Do you just rotate them forward?

 

[reefkeeper2]

Since I can't find info about what levels would be toxic to invertebrates, I threw a polyfilter on. I really should find the source. The water tests I can find are not quantitative only telling you if lead is present. The amount I have is half of the action level set by the government so I don't know if it would even show up. Sigh.....

 

[dz6t]

I am not yet be able to understand how useful this Triton testing can be besides the industry is pushing it as a "revolutionary" thing.
But in my opinion, I am not convince how useful it is:

1. The analysis result is significantly reflecting on what salt mix you use.

2. If element X is lacking, how do you dose it to the "right" level? Do you know the exact water volume of your reef (total volume minus the volume of rock, sand, coral etc)? If you don't, how can you dose?

3. Do you know if element X is below the "natural" level, is there any scientific study indicating the level of element X will impact coral health?

4. If Element Y is in excess, how to you selectively take it out?


By looking at the test example above, I am not sure what to do with those information.

Triton lab has a beautiful display tank in Germany, but there are tons of beautiful tanks around the world in the same caliber that do not use Triton method.

So, I just feel the Triton method is a hair splitting snake oil using fancy sounding (but very common) technology. But someone please convince me it is otherwise. Thanks

 

[choff]

I have no interest in using the Triton method. The main driver for me is heavy metal analysis. I had a cfl bulb fall into my sump 9 months ago and I lost all my sps. Since then I have removed 80 pct of the rock and 95 pct of the sand. My tank is doing fantastic, but I still have some fears. My ORP has never rebounded. I was always 430 range and now I I'm living in the 330 range. Can't explain that. I looked into regional analysis and a heavy metal panel was going to run me $300. For $50 it's a bit of a curiosity for me and not something I plan on ever doing again, but wouldn't rule it out until I see the results.

...stupid auto correct

 

[reefstarter]

ORP is a measurement of "micro Fauna " correct ?

 

[dilligaf29]

depending how old ur house is u could have a lead water pipe comming from ur main into ur house i see it all the time most people dont know they think they have copper

 

[reefkeeper2]

I'm not going to use the Triton method either but the analysis shows I have a heavy metal problem. That is very useful information and well worth the $50. Other than a polyfilter, I don't see what else I can do because I can't find a test kit sensitive e enough to find the source.

 

[thereefkeeper]

9 stages. Wow!!! I defiantly like multi stage di. Do you just rotate them forward?

Exactly what I do

 

[delta]

If you looked at the test I posted lead is in the salts we buy so I am willing to bet Tin is in there as well