Does silicate bind to rocks?

Miami Reef

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Silicate acts like phosphate in so many ways. GFO, aluminum oxide, and lanthanum can bind it; it can cause false positives in a phosphate kit if enough Si is present.

Let me ask you, does it also adsorb onto calcium carbonate surfaces (rocks) like phosphate does?

My mind randomly spawned this question today.
 

Randy Holmes-Farley

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I expect it does to some extent, but I’m not sure how much or if it is significant in a reef context. For example, calcium silicate is not very soluble, indicating a good likelihood of some binding.
 

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