Marine Pure

[Skim]

Just thought I would post this that I found earlier today. I am not saying this stuff does not work I have on my fresh water and it works great, But I did remove mine from my reef today to see if I notice any difference, as I can always put it back.

MarinePure Warning
Hey everyone. I am writing to share my experience with MarinePure ("MP"). I realize that many of you will have had a different experience and I certainly respect that. First some background.

A month or so ago, I had a rocking frag tank, full PE all day and decent color. I have noticed that the tanks with the most color also have the most biological filtration. Thus, I decided to order a bunch of Pukani rock from BRS. Right before I did however, a friend pointed me in the direction of MP. After reading a lot of reviews, and fully acknowledging the Aluminum issue, I decided to order a bunch of it.

I received the MP but was very busy so it sat dry for a few weeks in my fish closet. Finally I had time to introduce it into my tank, but I didn't have time to do the usual water change and carbon change along with it. This turned out to be a good thing in that it eliminated variables.

Here is where this is partially my fault. I barely rinsed the MP before putting it into my tank. I had no idea that the word "Ceramic" refers more to a process than a material (don't believe me, look it up). I figured how bad could a little bit of clay dust be, considering I rarely rinsed dry rock before introduction. I placed the MP in a chamber of my sump where all flow had to go through it.

Within 2 hours of introduction of MP my SPS had all retracted polyps. The water was not cloudy. I did not think much of this and figured in a few days things would be back to normal. Lets just say a few days later nothing had PE or color. I decided at this point to do a large water change and remove the MP. I was positive it was the MP causing the issue because I had not changed anything in the tank other than adding the MP (remember the bit above about eliminating variables). I performed about a 30% water change and figured things would get better.

A couple of days later I began to see the first STN. Terrified, I performed another 50% water change and Changed the carbon. This had no effect. A few days after this I put PolyFIlter into the tank hoping it would eliminate any aluminum the MP had introduced. Again no effect.

So here we are 2 weeks later and MP has given me the privilege of watching all of my SPS slowly STN. I lose a few colonies each day. What is really strange is that I have confirmed that the tank water is fine. I did this by introducing a frag of the same type of coral I had when the MP was introduced, after the MP was introduced. The frag that was there when the MP was introduced died today while the frag introduced after the water changes etc has full PE and looks good. I also tried saving a few of my colonies by placing them in another tank that has never seen MP. They all died. It is like whatever MP released doomed the SPS immediately and nothing can be done to save them.

So in closing I want to reiterate again that I did not follow MP direction as well as I should have and RINSE thoroughly. That said, I wouldn't want something in my tank that if not rinsed properly is a ticking time bomb. Additionally, I am a biologist and am well versed in the scientific method. I would not call out a product like this if I was not nearly 100% sure. I actually have gone back and forth on whether to write this review, but I decided to proceed in hopes I save someones tank. I know many people have used this product with success, My experience was quite different.

 

[heath]

that sucks, thanks for the article tho, I was going to get some for my seahorse tank..you didn't comment on what it did if anything to your fish but, I think that I am going to pass now, again, thanks for sharing that info and I am soo very sorry for your losses...

 

[Skim]

Don't just take this one review as 100 % because he even admits to screwing up. As for myself I am just having some issues with some Corals and I did notice my Spheres where crumbling. There are many who swear by them and some just fear the whole concept. I pulled it for now to see what if any reaction there will be.

 

[Nighthawk26]

I read something like this some time ago but lots of contradictions "proving" otherwise. Now that said, I have yet to be able to keep sps, even when water params are seemingly perfect. I did follow the exact process, but while trying everything else to solve my issues, this had fallen off my radar. Perhaps I will remove mine to see.

Out of curiosity, let's say this is our issue. Is this something in the water column? Or is this something that will essentially have affected bacteria, rock, sand, and everything else in the tank? Meaning that its a lot more than just basically replenishing all the water over time.

Sent from my SM-G920W8 using Tapatalk

 

[Skim]

I have had the Spheres in my sump located in the space between the first and second chamber for almost 2 years. I later got a Block also and it has been in for 10 months. Now for Nitrates it has not done much for me, my Bio Pellets are working much better. I decided to pull the Marine Pure yesterday and will monitor to see any difference in the tank. I to have been having problems with SPS and for the life of me I should be selling frags and not buying them. I had noticed that the level of the Spheres had dropped and noticed some fell apart, as I was pulling them out I could see that some were smaller and some had chucks fallen off. I have a feeling that they were slowly dissolving and if that is true then yes there good have be a fine powder floating around that may have been irritating the Corals and causing the polyp's not to extend and starve. Know that is just a theory that I can up with, I still have to vacuum the first chamber out as there is quite a bit of small pieces from taking it out. Now I don't know if this has anything to do with what I did but after about 6 hours I did see some polyp extension on 3 frags, tiny, but have not seen since days after putting them in. This could be just a fluke but that is what I have seen so far.

 

[reef keeper]

If you read some threads on RC, a lot of sps guys have had similar experience to you, as well as STN and RTN. Apparently sps and these media blocks don't mix.

 

[AdInfinitum]

Perhaps the same issue as using aluminum based phosphate absorbing products...lots of corals don't react well and SPS definitely are a no go.

 

[Nonuser]

I have the spheres in my nano and then after a year I had the SPS bleaching from the bottom up issue. I have pulled and cleaned them several times,but this maybe an issue.

Long ago I heard putting any bio media in a saltwater tank was a big no-no, just a dirt trap. I will have to go over the BRS 160 build videos but I think they pulled the blocks they had in their sump.

Sometimes the more stuff we add to fix issues that never existed in the first place can come back and bite you big time.

I was foolish enough to spend $$ on siporax and drive all the way to Toronto to get it for my new tank. Why? Because of another forums hype train. My fault I asked them why they were using it and what was the benefits. They said more biological filtration but when I asked why they needed it now and what issue it was solving my posts never got answered.

I'm finding adding stuff just because it sounds like a great idea isn't always a great idea. Tweaking an already balanced system is foolish.

Maybe I should add t5s to my led's ?

 

[Skim]

There are many running those blocks with great results and are heavy SPS tanks. Could there be some faulty products? Why not if you can have inconsistent Salt, may be some are not baked or fried long enough and stay soft and the waterflow makes it deteriorate. Like I said the 2 things I noticed when I was removing was the some of the Spheres had started to fall apart and when I grabbed the block I could feel my figures squish in a small amount, when I looked at it you could see on the edge 2 places where my figures had made indentations, not large but noticeable so that tells me there is some softening effect from the water and when when you add flow it will slowly deteriorate.

 

[Nighthawk26]

I've got some crazy algae all over my spheres, which are in my sump/fuge. I will pull them out to clean them off anyways, and leave them out for a bit. Already 2 frags from fragfest that were SPS are dead. Something weird is going on, that's for sure. NO coral I would say is overly excited. Still not 100% sure on lighting settings, and flow, so those are still variables for me. Good thread though regardless.

 

[reef keeper]

I was going to add some to my DT sump and sump on my ft. I've read enough on them now to realize there is a risk, especially with the amount of sps I have. I added more dead rock to both sumps. Sometimes keeping it simple is best.