Copper water lines in your home?

2swift

New member
I have heard copper is bad for our reefs!
But my question, How does the copper piping in some homes,
affect there reefs? Is there an affect or not? And does using an Ro/Di take care of the copper if it is an issue?

Just curious.
 
older pipes can (and do) leech copper into the house water system, whihc if ued for a reef tank, it will make an impact over time.
 
I wonder how many people are aware of what type of piping they have and that it may possibley effect there reefs?
 
MOST homes have copper pipes. Luckily, copper leaches at a very slow rate when in fresh water (not salt :)). An RO unit can help with the removal or copper and other metals.
 
Copper pipes are not a problem in your home. Municipal utilities must test lead and copper levels within a sampling of homes in their utility and if copper is found to be a problem they must implement a treatment program to make the water less agressive. Copper is basically a non issue unless you have your own private well with water that has a negative Langlier Index or low pH and could cause corrosion.
Copper after a RO or RO/DI is another story and should be avoided.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8091652#post8091652 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by AZDesertRat
Copper pipes are not a problem in your home. Municipal utilities must test lead and copper levels within a sampling of homes in their utility and if copper is found to be a problem they must implement a treatment program to make the water less agressive. Copper is basically a non issue unless you have your own private well with water that has a negative Langlier Index or low pH and could cause corrosion.
Copper after a RO or RO/DI is another story and should be avoided.

WOW what he said! :thumbsup:
 
The EPA enacted the Lead and Copper Rule back in the early 1990s and copper issues are a thing of the past if your utility is in compliance with their regulating bodies..
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8091978#post8091978 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by dblanton
OK say your on a well or community well? why does the Ro/Di pose a threat?

It really doesn't unless you place copper downstream of the RO/DI itself. RO/DI is extremely corrosive and can contain high heavy metal levels when it contacts metal pipe. As long as your metal plumbing is before the RO/DI the product water will be metal free.

One little note here; the EPA MCL for copper is 1.3 ppm which is far more than one wants in there aquarium if using staight tap.
 
Will the standard copper test which you would use in conjunction with medicating be useful? ( yes i know not to put copper in a tank with anything but fish)
 
Key word if !
It is better to errror on the side of caution don't you think?
what is a harmful level of copper to reef?
 
Any detectable level is harmful. Most hobbyist kits are not sensitive nor accurate enough to give good readings but if its detected its bad.
 
Cut & Paste: (Just FYI)
"If you have copper pipes for your home’s water supply and you see greenish-blue stains on your sinks, showers or toilets, it is very likely that your pipes are corroding. In our local area (the Central California foothills) we would estimate that over 95% of the problem water complaints about “blue stains” are the result of corrosive water slowly dissolving copper pipes. When well water from these homes is tested, the test results almost always show low pH, low hardness and low total alkalinity."
 
You just partially described a low langlier index which I previously mentioned. Another possible problem is chlorine reacting with brass in plumbing fixtures which is probably more common than agressive water. It is more noticable with older or better quality fixtures with a higher brass content which is not as common in todays faucets and fixtures.
Most of the LA area and southern Calif in general is served with Colorado River water via the Metropolital Water District and have the opposite problem, extremely hard water and high TDS. This is also true of Central Arizona which is also Colorado River water via the Central Arizona Project canal system.
 
Davis is served by well water from the central valley. We have extremely hard water as well.

Only LA LA is served by the Metropolitan Water District. Once you go more inland to the inland empire regions (not that there is any break in the density of the cities, you can drive for 2 hours and still think its LA :)), those are also served by well water (at least for the Riverside area). Once again, very hard water.
 
LA boggles my mind. I recently attended a family wedding in Oxnard and it seemed like I was in the City for about 120 miles from the time I hit Fontana and the Foothills Freeway until I saw the ocean. I thought Phoenix and the surrounding cities was spread out but its nothing like that!
 
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