# aluminum in aquarium?



## TheFisherOfCichlids1 (Feb 19, 2013)

So is aluminum safe for aquarium use I know stainless is so aluminums got to be right?


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## Ultimbow (Mar 19, 2009)

hope this help

http://www.lenntech.com/periodic/water/aluminium/aluminum-and-water.htm

Dissolved Al3+-ions are toxic to plants; these affect roots and decrease phosphate intake. As was mentioned above, when pH values increase aluminum dissolves.


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## TheFisherOfCichlids1 (Feb 19, 2013)

Thanks in glad I asked


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## Ultimbow (Mar 19, 2009)

Glad i could copy and paste some good info for you


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## TheFisherOfCichlids1 (Feb 19, 2013)

Haha ya I was using a aluminum nail on driftwood but stainless works just add good


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## Ultimbow (Mar 19, 2009)

Be careful with stainless nail some sort of stainless has iron in it so it might rust. If you want to know use a magnet if it stick to it there is iron present in the nail ans its not "medical" grade.


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## PlantedRich (Jul 21, 2010)

This is a quote from the information:
At pH values below 4.5 solubility rapidly increases, causing aluminum concentrations to rise above 5 ppm. This may also occur at very high pH values.

Do you plan for your tank PH to drop below 4.5 or have very high PH levels. Like maybe your fish are swimming in acid or lye? At those levels, I would guess aluminum to be dangerous but then my fish will have died long before then! 

I would look for more information before accepting that aluminum is a hazard. I have lots of aluminum cooking equipment which we use every day. 

It might be worth noting that this information is provided by a company which sell things to remove aluminum from water. Does that taint their thinking on the need to remove aluminum? 
I consider the salesman to be the least reliable of all information sources.


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## GraphicGr8s (Apr 4, 2011)

Ultimbow said:


> Be careful with stainless nail some sort of stainless has iron in it so it might rust. If you want to know use a magnet if it stick to it there is iron present in the nail ans its not "medical" grade.


All stainless steel has iron in it. 
The most popular stainless steel is Type 304, which contains approximately 18 percent chromium and 8 percent nickel.


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## TheFisherOfCichlids1 (Feb 19, 2013)

My ph is like 8.4 to 8.6 haha so pretty high and my fish are perfectly fine. Also that's a good point salesman are deceiving. Also I used a pure stainless screw hopefully it will work


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## Skeetz (Jan 25, 2014)

I would never have thought of that.


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## gerbillo (Dec 5, 2013)

Diana Walstad identifies three major factors affecting metal toxicity in "Ecology of the Planted Aquarium":

1. pH: Toxicity is significantly reduced between 5.5-8, staying in sediment.

2. Water Hardness: Calcium ions in harder water outcompete metals.

3. Dissolved Organic Carbon: According to Waldstad this has the greatest impact. DOCs tend to bind to metals, preventing plants and animals from absorbing them, even in soft acidic waters.

With this in mind it might be tricky to apply to all situations. pH might be on the high side but it is probably neutralized by DOCs. If you're that concerned you could replacing the nail with something else just for the piece of mind, but probably not necessary.


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## PlantedRich (Jul 21, 2010)

What I see in so much of the information posted is a trend. While the facts may be true as posted, they tend to throw in tidbits of information that sound terribly scary but have little to do with the subject. Like throwing out the info that under certain conditions dangerous flammable hydrogen gas is released. That is likely to be true but is it true for the conditions we are looking at or is the info thrown in just to scare us?
How about this small bit?
"because hydrochloric acid drops form when it reacts with water vapor.

Maybe if having hydrogen gas released is not scary enough throwing in a bit of hydrochloric acid will do the trick? 

Somewhere there might be a small check on reality! Anybody ever have a bad experience with hydrogen gas or hydrochloric acid when they have a cold drink? If you don't cut your lip on the can, you may be pretty safe around the rest of the aluminum in the can! 

And I'm real sure my fish water will never get that much acid.


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## yashmack (May 20, 2013)

I have an all aluminum heatsink as part of a chiller on a 20 gallon long, its been sitting int he HOB outflow for almost a year with no detrimental affects on my axolotl or on my java fern that is in the tank
no hydrogen build up and no acid droplets -_-


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## PlantedRich (Jul 21, 2010)

Considering where and why aluminum is used, I'm thinking the stories about it corroding in water may be just a little bit overblown. Meanwhile I'm getting thirsty. Pass me another can of that cold stuff?


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## Matsnork (Jun 3, 2013)

If anodized well aluminium should not be a problem, but there are so many other options so why risk it.


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## DarkCobra (Jun 22, 2004)

PlantedRich said:


> Maybe if having hydrogen gas released is not scary enough throwing in a bit of hydrochloric acid will do the trick?


LOL. I used to add dilute hydrochloric acid to my tanks on a daily basis. In reaction with my tapwater's copious KH, it produced a little burst of CO2, and results equivalent to Excel use.

I'm sure you can imagine the predictions of doom this invariably evoked whenever I mentioned it.


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