broomer or sammy check this out !

[diddykang]

k this is bad...this morning i got up to find a rock leaning on my heater and the heater had a big crack in it and was totally rusted out. i tried to take out the heater and it crumbled and a whole bunch of rust juice got in the tank. how bad is this and what should i do? by the way i f eel like such a tool

 

[nm reef]

I ain't either of the two you were asking...but if that happen to me I'd:
1- Attempt to syphon any obvious debris out immediately.
2-Over the next several days pay very close attention to all fish/corals/crabs/snails/shrimp etc. for signs of stress/damage...if critters start to look bad I'd begin removing them to a temp. system until the display is stable and functioning again.
3-As a pre-caution I would start using some sort of poly filter to remove any possible suspended particles in the water.
4-I might also start doing a few small(maybe 5% or so) water changes for a few days to prevent any potential problems from coming up.
5- Last...I would look into the addition of a sump and/or refugium that for one would allow remote use of equipment...such as your new heater...

 

[richard rendos]

I would make the next heater a titanium one. They won't break.

 

[blondenaso1]

I really don't think you have much to worry about except like brommer said some algae. Iron oxide is simply that, iron that has been oxidized which occurs in our systems anyways. I add Iron to my tank for the macros in the fuge and I am sure that the majority of it is oxisized before it is absorbed by any of the corals and algae.

 

[danrw84]

Richard Rendos
how do you have your status at Mental Patient? lol. i want to change mine too.

 

[ryebread]

I really don't think you have much to worry about except like brommer said some algae.
Man, this guy doesn't even post and he gets credit for good advice........nice job Broomer.

 

[broomer5]

I didn't do it !
All I remember from chemistry about rust is that it's called iron oxide as already mentioned, and it's formula is called ferrous oxide Fe2+ and O2-
I did a google search on ferrous oxide and iron oxide with the keyword "saltwater" included.
This is something I found - that would show what other chemical reactions can occur in a saltwater environment - especially a saltwater environment with high alkalinity.
According to this article, lots of stuff can combine - depending on several variables.
Iron Oxide can split to it's individual ions
Fe2+ being the cation
O2- being the anion
Iron Fe2+ can join up with sulfur and become iron sulfide, or iron sulfate or iron sulfite, as well as join up with some of the chloride in NaCL sodium chloride ... and form FeCl2 ferrous chloride.
Here's the link if you wanna get into all the chemistry.
Other than this - I have no idea and zero experience with "rust juice" in a saltwater tank. I don't even know if this link would be meaninful to us anyway. Nevertheless - it was sort of interesting.
I'd go with Sammy's water change recommendations - and keep an eye on things.
Iron / Saltwater / what can happen