A tiny little staple ended up in my reef last night and managed to hide in the rocks (it had great survival instincts). I'm wondering how concerned I should be... staples have zinc coated steel, aluminum, etc in them. If it was just steel, I wouldn't be overly concerned but I have never read anything about aluminum or zinc and how it effects inverts/fish???
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Ughh... a silly staple in a reef tank (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter DRH
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G
Guest
Is the staple rusted ? I don't think you should worry about it. If you want to be safe use those Poly filter.
G
Guest
I highly doubt it will cause a problem. metals already exsist in SW. I can't imagine that one staple would elivate them to poisonous levels. If you are REALLY worried about it, just do regular water changes.
G
Guest
Is rust a problem? Do I need to worry about those 8 razor blades the fish have confinscated from me, and now on me anytime I don't come with food in my hand to the tank?
Also curious, for we see that rust in one of Globals tanks.
Nathan
Also curious, for we see that rust in one of Globals tanks.
Nathan
G
Guest
I'm no chemist. As metal oxidizes (rusts) is the rust chemically a metal too?
Niko5
Guest
take your mag float and rub it around where it is
rust is FeO (ferric oxide). i doubt that iron is released as steel 'rusts' (oxidized). i don't have a table of potential energies for oxidation-reduction reactions, so i don't know whether this really happens or not without an electrical stimulus. even if it could occur, only a small amount of iron would precipitate as the surface of the steel is oxidized. once the surface is oxidized, no more redox reaction.
it is true that iron is an essential metal for living organisms. you'll find that liver is the best source for iron in food. not only do algae take it, so do many types of bacteria (including the bad kind). one of the responses of the human body is to absorb iron in the blood stream and store it in the liver when a bacterial/viral infection occurs. in essence, it's a way of starving the bacteria and slowing down the spread. so... i would think that you're feeding a lot of different things if you have any solid iron in the tank, but mostly the bacteria will benefit.
it is true that iron is an essential metal for living organisms. you'll find that liver is the best source for iron in food. not only do algae take it, so do many types of bacteria (including the bad kind). one of the responses of the human body is to absorb iron in the blood stream and store it in the liver when a bacterial/viral infection occurs. in essence, it's a way of starving the bacteria and slowing down the spread. so... i would think that you're feeding a lot of different things if you have any solid iron in the tank, but mostly the bacteria will benefit.
