rust in a reef tank
 

i just noticed that the screw on the handle of my gatevalve on my skimmer is rusting.

just how bad is this?

Very!

It's just iron, isn't it? That doesn't sound deadly to me.

isn't Phosban ferric oxide?

I have a few hose clamps rusting away submerged in each of my two sumps. I've never been concerned. Been one year now.

http://www.ultimatereef.net/forums/s...d.php?t=133096

It will probably only leach a little rust into your tank but why risk it IMO.

I would clean off the rust & add a light coat of silicone or something over it to keep it from rusting in the future.

I'm just not a big fan of letting things like rust get into my system if I can help it. It may not hurt anything, but then again it may. JMHO.

Anthony

Now you don't need to add iron to your reef as a trace element.:wink:

i'll try cleaning it off a bit and siliconing it a bit.. i wasent too worried about it, but once in a while i get worried about insignificant stuff. just wanted to see what everyones opinions were on it. thanks.

silcone wont prevent it. Depends on the system size. Larger system less of a worry. If anything rusts in my 120 I wouldnt be concerned

I agree with Anthony. Why take a chance when you can easily fixthe problem.

Tom R

I have a screw on my gate valve on my skimmer, when I noticed it rusting I just took it off. Valve works fine without it, it is only there to hold the handle down in place.

reply
 

Just a side note. It's not the iron that would harm anything in your tank, at least not at the levels a small screw would give. I would have been more concerned with the other heavy metals, if present, that would also be leached into the tank from that same screw. I agree that taking it out is a smart thing to do.

That was my main concern because who knows what other metals or impurities leach in. Still, if we spend all this money on different types of skimmers, filters, RODI unites, etc. just to get the best water quality, I just don't see why letting something like rust get into the system when its such an easy fix.

I believe one of the issues with iron in a fish tank is that rust is ferric oxide. As in oxygen will leave the water column and bind to the iron. Given enough iron, small enough water volume, or inadequate air exchange and fish hypoxia could be a problem.