High Zinc in ICP Test & Switching to ATI Essentials – Need Advice

[CalypZoo Reef]

I’ve got a couple of questions that I can’t quite figure out on my own, and I’d love some advice from the community.

1. Elevated Zinc in ICP test
My tank is now about 8 months old and has gone through the usual algae and bacterial phases fairly smoothly. For the last 3 months I’ve been dosing All-For-Reef and my corals were doing well.

However, during my vacation a few weeks ago, I lost 5 healthy, fast-growing SPS frags rather suddenly. When I came back, my parameters looked fairly stable, but I noticed some nitrite showing up in the test. The display itself looked clean, but there was a lot of detritus buildup in the sump.

I decided to run an ICP test, and the only unusual value was Zinc, which came back at about 5x higher than recommended. Everything else looked reasonable (Tin was slightly elevated but only marginal).

Here’s what I’ve done so far:

• Disassembled and cleaned all powerheads and return pumps
• Emptied and cleaned the entire sump
• Checked for any rusting or corroded metal parts – everything still looks new
• Performed ~70% water change
• Ran a Triton Detox course to bind heavy metals
• Currently running Poly-Filter and activated carbon to remove contaminants

The tank looks fresh, but I haven’t found a clear source for the Zinc. My plan is to run another ATI Pro ICP test in a week or two once things have stabilized. Hopefully the Zinc is gone by then, but I’m curious if anyone has other ideas of where to look or what else I can do?

2. Starting ATI Essentials (Pro vs Plus?)
I’ve heard great things about ATI Essentials and I’d like more control over my dosing. I have both the Pro and the Plus versions at home, but I’m not sure which one to use..

My tank (450L / ~120g) doesn’t have that many corals at the moment (see photo), but I do plan to add more over the coming months. Eventually I’d like to keep a nice mixed reef.

• Should I go with Pro , or is Plus better?
• What’s the exact difference between Pro and Plus?
• I also have the ATI Nutrition C, N & P bottles. Do these only go with Pro, or with Plus as well? And can they be diluted with RO water?
• For dosing, the ATI calculator asks for a lot of water parameters. I’m not fully confident I’m entering things correctly, so I’d appreciate if someone could suggest a good starting dosage for my tank. I’ll be testing KH daily and adjusting from there.

Current parameters:

• Temp: 24.6 °C
• Salinity: 1.025
• pH: 8.0
• KH: 6.4 dKH (a bit low since I stopped AFR 2 weeks ago, came down from 8)
• PO4: 0.12 ppm
• NO3: 3.7 ppm
• NO2: 13 ppm
• Ca: 440 ppm
• Mg: 1410 ppm

My Tank:

My cleaned sump:

---

Any thoughts on the Zinc situation or tips for getting started with ATI Essentials would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance!

 

[wvned]

Zinc most commonly comes from a piece of galvanized steel like a bolt or screw dropped in the tank. Perhaps a hose clamp?
Usually you will see elevated levels of tin, iron and perhaps molybdenum as well.
Some fish foods contain a lot of zinc.

Never used the ATI product sorry.
Go easy adding stuff you cant test for and can only see with an ICP unless you plan to do them regularly.

 

[CalypZoo Reef]

Zinc most commonly comes from a piece of galvanized steel like a bolt or screw dropped in the tank. Perhaps a hose clamp?
Usually you will see elevated levels of tin, iron and perhaps molybdenum as well.
Some fish foods contain a lot of zinc.

Never used the ATI product sorry.
Go easy adding stuff you cant test for and can only see with an ICP unless you plan to do them regularly.

I have taken every pump, powerhead and filter apart and checked the heater but couldn't find anything. I don't use metal hose clamps but I have a few plastic ones, specialy to avoid rust. I have also had a good look in the sump cabinet but nothing found nothing. I even emptied out my complete sump and checked every corner for a screw, bolt or nail nut nothing....

I will do another ICP soon and also test my RO Water. I will do an ICP test every 2 months and once I'm confident I have it all dialed in I will go to every 4 months.

Zinc is very high, tin is slightly elevated and Molybdenum is normal. See results below...

 

[wvned]

I do not have my glasses on. Is iron not listed in the ICP?

I do not see the ATI Plus listed on the ATI website.
As for the Pro version, Its not how I do it but I don't see anything wrong with it except if it would go out of stock and become hard to get.
I expect it would be a good product for a mixed reef tank like yours.
I do the same thing with 4 doser channels and kalk.

 

[griss]

I have no suggestions on the zinc. I've never used ICP. Unless I'm having an issue with my tank, I tend to not "chase numbers."

I've never used ATI additives either. @wvned here's a link to the ATI Essentials+

 

[wvned]

and the answer appears since they are similar products

Pro - Optimised for LPS and mixed stock tanks.​

+ Optimised for stony coral (SPS + LPS ) dominated aquariums. ​

 

[wvned]

I have no suggestions on the zinc. I've never used ICP. Unless I'm having an issue with my tank, I tend to not "chase numbers."

I've never used ATI additives either. @wvned here's a link to the ATI Essentials+

There are things you cant know otherwise, Like am I poisoning my tank with LaCl or removing it. I tend to do them once a year or so.

I hear chasing numbers. I am not sure I know what that means. Aren't we all doing it in a sense. That's why we add all that stuff to the tanks.

I need to go check my doser.
I wonder if the + version is sold here. ! didnt see it at BRS and it isnt on the ATI page I landed on.

 

[CalypZoo Reef]

I do not have my glasses on. Is iron not listed in the ICP?

I do not see the ATI Plus listed on the ATI website.
As for the Pro version, Its not how I do it but I don't see anything wrong with it except if it would go out of stock and become hard to get.
I expect it would be a good product for a mixed reef tank like yours.
I do the same thing with 4 doser channels and kalk.

no problem... Yes Iron is on the sheet. It's called IJzer (Fe). The ICP result for Iron came up as Non Detectable....

ATI Plus and Pro are similar products. one has a carbon source added and the other doesn't. I'm going with the PRO version as you can add nutrition yourself instead of it being mixed in. Gives me a little more control.
ATI are currently in the proces of rebranding their Plus and Pro products to "SPS Reef" and "Mixed Reef" because most people can't figure out which one they need.

I definitely don’t get fixated on the numbers, nor do I panic when my parameters aren’t perfect. Still, doing an ICP test every now and then is useful to know where adjustments might be needed. For me, the most important indicator of how things are going are my corals — if they look good, I change very little.

 

[griss]

There are things you cant know otherwise, Like am I poisoning my tank with LaCl or removing it. I tend to do them once a year or so.

I hear chasing numbers. I am not sure I know what that means. Aren't we all doing it in a sense. That's why we add all that stuff to the tanks.

I need to go check my doser.
I wonder if the + version is sold here. ! didnt see it at BRS and it isnt on the ATI page I landed on.

The only things I add are Alk, Ca, Mg and NO3. I only test those items about once a month at best unless something is off with my tank. What I mean by not chasing numbers is, I don't test regularly and try to constantly make adjustments.

I'm thinking the ATI Essentials+ may not be available in the US currently. Premium Aquatics doesn't have it either.

 

[wvned]

If iron isn't detected it isn't a screw or hardware.
Did your ICP test your RODI as well?

And I think the things are just wrong sometimes. The last one I did said I had nigh nitrates in my RODI but none in the system. Made me scratch my head.

The only things I add are Alk, Ca, Mg and NO3. I only test those items about once a month at best unless something is off with my tank. What I mean by not chasing numbers is, I don't test regularly and try to constantly make adjustments.

I'm thinking the ATI Essentials+ may not be available in the US currently. Premium Aquatics doesn't have it either.

I looked there too.
I test frequently at first and then less and less. I tend try to detect the rate a parameter is changing and trim it or slightly reverse it. I do testing 2-3 times a year now.
I have 2 part, Mg, Tropic Marin A- and K+ and LaCl on dosers and the kalk dripper. The dripper doesn't add enough alk and Ca so I need the 2 part as well.
I add iodine and iron sometimes but not on a schedule. Iodine is for poopy looking inverts and iron for poopy looking macroalgae.
I think these new everything in 2 bottles would be more expensive for me to use. I am getting biopellets, kalk and other stuff on eBay these days.
I was getting alk and Ca in 5 gallon buckets from BRS but they went through the roof.

 

[CalypZoo Reef]

If iron isn't detected it isn't a screw or hardware.
Did your ICP test your RODI as well?

And I think the things are just wrong sometimes. The last one I did said I had nigh nitrates in my RODI but none in the system. Made me scratch my head.

I looked there too.
I test frequently at first and then less and less. I tend try to detect the rate a parameter is changing and trim it or slightly reverse it. I do testing 2-3 times a year now.
I have 2 part, Mg, Tropic Marin A- and K+ and LaCl on dosers and the kalk dripper. The dripper doesn't add enough alk and Ca so I need the 2 part as well.
I add iodine and iron sometimes but not on a schedule. Iodine is for poopy looking inverts and iron for poopy looking macroalgae.
I think these new everything in 2 bottles would be more expensive for me to use. I am getting biopellets, kalk and other stuff on eBay these days.
I was getting alk and Ca in 5 gallon buckets from BRS but they went through the roof.

I will do another ICP in a week or so when the water has stabilized a bit. I did a major Water Change and a cure to be sure.
The ICP I did didn't have the RODI water test included. I know bought an ATI Pro ICP which does include the RODI test.

I'm thinking the zinc must come from my RODI water so I already got new 'food grade' water barrels instead of the rain water barrels I was using. (They stank of plastic)

 

[griss]

I'll be interested to see what the test of the RODI water comes back with. I'm wondering if the zinc could have leached from the rain barrels?

 

[wvned]

If the picture of your tank is it now it looks fine. I would not chase ghosts. I would see if future tests show the same thing or perhaps a trend in the value.
I have used trash cans from discount stores since I started keeping fish. I have never had them cause a problem.

Do you ever use zinc oxide sunscreen?

 

[griss]

If the picture of your tank is it now it looks fine. I would not chase ghosts. I would see if future tests show the same thing or perhaps a trend in the value.
I have used trash cans from discount stores since I started keeping fish. I have never had them cause a problem.

Do you ever use zinc oxide sunscreen?

Very good point. If that is a current picture of the tank, it looks great to me as well.

Interesting thought on the sunscreen

 

[CalypZoo Reef]

I'll be interested to see what the test of the RODI water comes back with. I'm wondering if the zinc could have leached from the rain barrels?

Yeah, really wondering about that to so I checked the manufacturers site. It says the barrels were made of recycled plastic but unlike other plastic products it would not tell me what kind of plastics. So that why I switched them. I will post the results of my ICP's here when I get them done.

If the picture of your tank is it now it looks fine. I would not chase ghosts. I would see if future tests show the same thing or perhaps a trend in the value.
I have used trash cans from discount stores since I started keeping fish. I have never had them cause a problem.

Do you ever use zinc oxide sunscreen?

Yes, it is a recent picture, taken when I put up this post. My corals look happy and my fish look fine so I will restock the corals that died after I get a good ICP.
I never use sunscreen but I will ask my dad as he took care of my tank when I was on holiday with my family.

Very good point. If that is a current picture of the tank, it looks great to me as well.

Interesting thought on the sunscreen

Thank you all for your comments. I feel good and worry less because of you.

My water is moving in the right direction. Still haven't done an ICP to check the Zinc. I want to wait a bit because of the detox cure and Poly Filter and then do another ICP. My results checked with the Hanna Marine Master:

Temp: 24,6 C
Sal: 1.024
PH:7,9
Kh:7,4
Po4:0,20
No3:0,6
No2:10
Ca:430
Mg:1380

I'm slowly raising the Kh again and that looks good. Nitrate and Nitrite moving in the right direction only Phosfate is creeping up a bit. I'm not rushing anything, taking it slowly to prevent big swings. I'm happy so far.