Galvanised Metal

[iain.betson]

Hi anyone know anyone or have galvanised metal in their tanks?
Is it safe?

 

[The-Wolf]

IMHO no it is not safe
galvanised steel is normerly only a few microns deep of nickle
this would soon break down in water and lead to a dangerouse
situation, added to that once the nickle comes off the steel would start to
oxidise leading to rust.

Thanks for dredging up memories of my sheet metal working days some 20+years ago

 

[andywg]

Woohoo, I knew 2 years working at a galv plant would come in useful one day!

Galvinised steel is zinc plated, not nickel (though there will be traces of nickel in the "techni-galv" added to the molten Zinc bath to make it look shinier along with aluminium rods).

The problem will not be so much the rusting of the steel (a number of people have rusty screws in reefs and most ferous shipwrecks are heavily populated with corals) but with the leaching of heavy metals into the tank. Zinc is very bad and can cause similar effects in humans as to lead poisoning. I doubt this will be good if place in an aquarium. I'm not sure how quickly the zinc coating would fail, as the whole idea of galv is to make prevent steel rsuting (hence why it is applied to oil rig derricks, lamp posts, lotus chassis and mobile phone masts).

To illustrate how bad heavy metals can be, when I was working in galv (2001-2003) the EU was considering putting new controls on galv plants as a fear of heavy metal leching from the work waiting in the yard after processing leaching zinc into the water table.

I would not really want to put any heavy metals in my tank, especially when we do our best with water treatments to neutralise them...

 

[The-Wolf]

dang, talk about rusty memory
yes zinc not nickle
(slaps forhead for not getting it correct)

 

[iain.betson]

Thanks guys, didnt think it would be good but thought I would ask anyway.
Cheers