[EMERGENCY] To high silicates in new water????

[DutchMuch]

just moved and this is the water quality report

to high silicates??? toxic and will kill all my fish and shrimp???
so far 8 fish have died in 2 days!!!!

 

[Zeus.]

dont know what a safe level is, sorry M8

 

[DutchMuch]

dont know what a safe level is, sorry M8

0.5ppm is a safe level
I have 30ppm

 

[dw1305]

Hi all,

0.5ppm is a safe level. I have 30ppm

They aren't silicates, the reading is for quartz (silica dioxide) SiO2. It isn't soluble (it is one of the hardest and most persistent natural minerals), so I don't know what the reading has actually measured.

What ever has been measured isn't a health hazard and won't have contributed to your fish death. Chloramine disinfection might be an option?

It also says your water is "moderately hard", but the report appears to have a low level of dissolved cations.

cheers Darrel

 

[DutchMuch]

Hi all, They aren't silicates, the reading is for quartz (silica dioxide) SiO2. It isn't soluble (it is one of the hardest and most persistent natural minerals), so I don't know what the reading has actually measured.

What ever has been measured isn't a health hazard and won't have contributed to your fish death. Chloramine disinfection might be an option?

It also says your water is "moderately hard", but the report appears to have a low level of dissolved cations.

cheers Darrel

ah thank god. One guy said this would be a HUGE problem and its toxic you need RO
I had a heart attack XD

thanks for the information a bunch!!!!

 

[dw1305]

Hi all,

so I don't know what the reading has actually measured.

I've just found out that "SiO2" is the convention for the way silicates are quoted in the water report, it doesn't matter what form of silica was present.

The high quoted value just means that the water source is probably a deep sandstone (or fractured granite etc) aquifer where the water has spent a relatively long time period. Apparently natural groundwater values range between 1 - 100 mg/L, with 30 mg/L towards the upper end of the "usual" values. You can get higher values where you have geothermal activity etc.

The reference is: HEM, J.D. 1989. <"Study and interpretation of the chemical characteristics of natural water.U.S. Geological Survey Water Supply Paper 2254">. pp. 264.

.....The range of concentrations of silica most commonly observed in natural water is from I to about 30 mg/L. Concentrations up to 100 mg/L, however, are not infrequent in ground water in some areas. Davis (1964) quoted a median value of silica for surface waters of 14 mg/L and for ground water of I7 mg/L. The higher concentrations found in ground waters are related to rock type and to temperature of the water. A general review of silica occurrence in natural water has been published by Ginzburg and Kabanova (1960). Some geologic factors related to silica concentrations in water are considered elsewhere in this volume...........

cheers Darrel

 

[rebel]

Wonder whether you'd get more diatoms due to this issue.

As per @dw1305 , this is a non issue. Just soldier on.

 

[dw1305]

Hi all,

Wonder whether you'd get more diatoms due to this issue.

I think the answer is that silica is almost always non-limiting for diatoms in aquaria.

Basically they are almost universal where ever there is liquid water and incredibly efficient at extracting trace amounts of silica from orthosilicic acids. I think you could get a different diatom assemblage at higher silica levels, possibly with species with a faster growth rate, if other nutrients are non-limiting.

cheers Darrel

 

[dw1305]

Hi all,
There is an interesting <"diatom discussion at the Planted Tank">, some of the protagonists are also familiar names at UKAPS.

cheers Darrel