Copper sulfate question

[LFS_worker]

Rany I have wondered this for a while.

When people treat a F/O tank with copper it can be made untestable with a tap conditioner that "detoxifies heavy metals".
This is something of a concern where does the copper go once you add the conditioner? Is the aquarium ok for soft shelled inverts?

Does copper stay in the gravel and other parts of a tank?

Thanks
Brian

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

I wouldn't rely on it to remain "detoxified". It is bound up in a way that may reduce toxicity, but if ingested and metabolized or modified by bacteria, it can become toxic again.