High Iron in new make up water. Causes, and solutions?

[Battlecorals]

I had my new water tested, been using Tropic Marin marine mix for years now and after my back up system showed some elevated iron I sent in a sample of the new water.

A couple of quick questions.

Is this possibly a bad batch of salt, or is there another way that iron could be boosted in teh new water?

And secondly, how can I lower it, both my tank and the new water reservoir?

 

[Neoalchemist]

Have you tested your source water before mixing? Home Depot sells a relatively cheap home iron hardness test. It's called Pure Test Iron Hardness plus kit 702.
At least might help to narrow down whether or not it's a salt issue. Aren't you on well water? Maybe an rodi filter addition.

 

[vetteguy53081]

I would at TDS of water and any iron pipes anywhere in your plumbing? (even in the walls)
Stupid question but are you adding Iron or manganese ? Also read your salt mix label for iron content

 

[Foothill Corals]

Is it possible it is from the pump you use for mixing?

I suggest TLF MetaSorb for removal.

 

[Battlecorals]

Cool thanks a lot for the fast reply guys,

ill test my ro/di for sure. could iron get through the ro?


I took a look at the pumps in my reservoir and they were clean from what I could tell. nothing suspicious.

I should add that, while i don't usually test my New water, I have never had elevated iron show up in either of my systems till now, and i did get a new pallet of salt (33 buckets) roughly 2-3 months ago. I have done very minimal WCs on my main with the new salt, And my main came back at low/ normal iron.

But, I have been flushing my back up system ever since a big fish died in there a couple of months ago, and the iron is significantly higher as a result of the WC's I'm guessing

 

[zzl630]

Do you have a power head like MP40 QD? If so check the wet side

 

[AngryMike2016]

I was JUST about to say the same thing about the MPs.

 

[Battlecorals]

Do you have a power head like MP40 QD? If so check the wet side

there's a jebo rw20 in there for circulation, and that was the first thing i looked at this Am, but i didn't see anything unusual with the magnet or impeller.

 

[Mal11224]

I use tropic Marin bio-actif and sent my water to be tested not too long ago and my iron was in the green. But, I did hear at Reefapalooza in NY a vendor mention that he uses tropic Marin and buys a pallet of it and it was bad. Said he has been using them for years. So, I guess it’s possible to receive a bad batch.

 

[Battlecorals]

I use tropic Marin bio-actif and sent my water to be tested not too long ago and my iron was in the green. But, I did hear at Reefapalooza in NY a vendor mention that he uses tropic Marin and buys a pallet of it and it was bad. Said he has been using them for years. So, I guess it’s possible to receive a bad batch.

A bad batch would definitely be unfortunate. Hoping that is not the case. I'll post back when i get some test results on source water

 

[Mark Gray]

Add Cheato it ureses Iron I dose iron when my cheato starts fading some

 

[Johnseye]

Are you on a well or public water supply? I'm on a well which is great for the lack of a water bill, but I get water straight from the ground which changes. I'll go through periods with more iron then less. I put in a hydrogen peroxide system that chemically changes the iron when I go through high iron concentrations from the well. It can then be filtered out.

I believe this is the reaction, but Google will get you a lot of info on the subject.

2 Fe+2 + H2O2 + 4 OH- → 2 Fe (OH)3 (precip.)

 

[Lou Ekus]

I use tropic Marin bio-actif and sent my water to be tested not too long ago and my iron was in the green. But, I did hear at Reefapalooza in NY a vendor mention that he uses tropic Marin and buys a pallet of it and it was bad. Said he has been using them for years. So, I guess it’s possible to receive a bad batch.

Mal, I would love to know who the vendor was that had the trouble of the "bad pallet" of salt from TM. We have not had a batch issue in quite a few years. So this is of some interest to me. If you would prefer not to post it publicly here, please email me at [email protected]. I would really like to follow up to see what the issue was. Thanks.

 

[JCOLE]

@Battlecorals Hey Adam did you ever find out what the Iron was from?

 

[joseserrano]

Some macroalgae would assist in naturally removing, but also detox or metalsorb may help.

 

[Battlecorals]

@Battlecorals Hey Adam did you ever find out what the Iron was from?

No actually. no idea to this day. lol

 

[JCOLE]

No actually. no idea to this day. lol

Ok. Just curious because I made a switch from IORC to TMPR a couple months ago. I just finished my first 200 gallon bucket. I noticed some black spots throughout the bucket. It looked like black mold but I don't think that is the case in saltwater. Almost looked like rust or iron spots.

 

[Lou Ekus]

Ok. Just curious because I made a switch from IORC to TMPR a couple months ago. I just finished my first 200 gallon bucket. I noticed some black spots throughout the bucket. It looked like black mold but I don't think that is the case in saltwater. Almost looked like rust or iron spots.

Is there any light getting to your mixing container? When you get a precipitate, it usually shows up as more of a "sediment" in the bottom. It also tends to look very "particulate". This almost looks like a growth due to light exposure. More like a cyano or dyno type thing. I could be wrong. It's always hard to tell from photos.
I really wish I could have heard what vendor was saying they got a "bad batch/pallet" of TM. I would have loved to follow up on that. We have not had an issue like that in ages. "Bad batch of salt" is so often used to mask different issues. I always enjoy helping people figure out what the actual issue was. Unfortunately, no follow up there.
In any case, let me know if this kind of spotting continues. I will be happy to help you track down exactly what it is.

 

[Battlecorals]

I've got lots of that brown residue in my reservoir. Never been an issue. Definitely not related to the iron issue i had.That I can say for sure.

 

[Reefahholic]

No actually. no idea to this day. lol

Some of these salt companies are boosting Fe and Mn up to 30-60x the normal level because they know it’s depleting rapidly.

Adam, you should have no problems with excessive iron in your systems.