Metal in sump

[Aquaman777]

Question: I have a small piece of metal in my sump that is underwater. It is a stainless steel clamp that clamps the hose to my return and I do know that they oxidize over time......is this crucial to my system?? It is a tiny chunk of metal.....but I dont want that to ruin my tank if it can!! What else can I use to clamp that hose??

[dbjohnso]

some may say its ok because indeed high quality stainless steel is much more resistant then other metals to oxidation based on chemical sources like salt etc. but even stainless will corrode give the right circumstances and it may happen much quicker then expected given low grade stainless...

there are many plastic & nylon style clamps..
snails bite the bullet (no pun intended ) pretty quickly when exposed to metal leaching in to the water...

[Aquaman777]

kk. Will anything else be affected right away other than snails? I have a lot of corals in my tank and don't want to lose any of them!!

[dbjohnso]

http://www.aboveboardelectronics.com/heyco/Page5-12.htm

regarding corals yes thet too can be impacted but in my experience the clamps have to degrade before they cause an issue, but if it were me I would replace them before it got to that stage..

p.s
ive seen cheap stainless steel coated clamps oxidize in weeks...

[Neuticle]

Unless it's a dirt cheap chinese hose clamp, you'll be fine. There aren't any metals in most stainless that would pose a problem, infact, some of the more exotic stainless compounds contain metals that redox NO3-

Iron is a legitimate component of saltwater, chromium will be more or less inert, tungsten will redox with available anions... None of the more conventionally dangerous heavy metals are used in any common stainless steels.

That's if the thing even corrodes fast enough to provide detectable amounts, which is incredibly unlikely.

[Loverotties]

Plastic ties(but look at the ratcheting peice is plastic too)sometimes it's made out of metal.

[Aquaman777]

kk. Thanks for the input guys!!

[crvz]

Originally Posted by Neuticle

Unless it's a dirt cheap chinese hose clamp, you'll be fine. There aren't any metals in most stainless that would pose a problem, infact, some of the more exotic stainless compounds contain metals that redox NO3-

Iron is a legitimate component of saltwater, chromium will be more or less inert, tungsten will redox with available anions... None of the more conventionally dangerous heavy metals are used in any common stainless steels.

That's if the thing even corrodes fast enough to provide detectable amounts, which is incredibly unlikely.

Agreed, in most cases the metal would be benign. Many pumps (think all magdrive pumps) have stainless screws that hold the impeller housing in place, and they're not an issue. A bit of iron-oxide is nothing to be worried about.