muzikalmatt
Valuable Member
My latest ATI ICP-OES analysis for my 40 gallon tank is showing elevated levels of Nickel and Copper, not so high as to be toxic yet, but enough to have me a little concerned. I'm wanting to see if I can determine the source so I can address the issue before it becomes a problem. My RODI testing shows neither of these chemicals in my source water, so I can rule that out. My first guess is that I recently dosed several rounds of BRS Liquid Magnesium to get my magnesium levels back in line. (I increased it from ~1100ppm to ~1350 ppm over 5 days, dosing ~200 mL each day.) It definitely raised the salinity of the system, but I'm also wondering if there were maybe some impurities in the mix (namely Nickel and Copper) that would have caused them to show up in this latest ICP test. If that's the case then I can probably just let these come down over time with regular water changes. If that's not the case (or not even possible), my only other guess is I have equipment leaching metals into the tank (wavemaker, return pump or skimmer pump). Does anyone have any experience with these elevated metals in their tanks and likely sources? Any insight would be appreciated. Thanks!
