I got Copper!!

S

SirCharles77

New member
I had 5 snails die in a week and a half and I was suspicious so I had my water tested at the LFS and I have 0.20 mg/l of copper in my tank.

How does one usually get copper? And what can I do about it?
 
If your tank is 1 month old i wouldnt trust the readings. Also could be from tap water.I would think they died and tank isnt cycled . You need to test for the bascis yourself, like nitrite,nitrate , PH,Ammonia and would think your LFS is uneducated.
 
Well the tank is just over a month into teh reset, but I set it up on Thanksgiving day as a 55g tank. Acording to my tests it was cycled in about 2 days. I believe this is possible because I basically bought the tank from someone who had it already established with fish in it about a month before I set it up. The LR and sand sat in cold stagnant water for about 3 weeks. Then I got it and set it up. Then about 3 weeks after it had been running with no problems I got the rest of the tank and LR from the same lady and transfered it all to a 105g tank. That tank in that state with 114lb of LR has been set up and running since about Dec. 18. All tests with the API Saltwater master kit that I have done have been all fine. The LFS ran all the same tests for me using the instant Ocean tests with teh same results.

So I tend to believe that it is cycled. Also I have several other fish in there already and they are all doing just fine. I have 7 Hermits, 2 small corals, 1 sailfin Tang, 2 green chromis, 1 Cardinal, and 1 clownfish. They are all doing fine. I did loose 2 cardinal but I am positive it was because they wouldnt eat. And I lost 1 chromis but he was beaten up by the other 2 chromis.
 
Not sure on whats the reset.You mean recycel cause the sand in the bucket would casue a big cycle and so many fish in a short time adds stress on the system. You need to slow down and take control before going through another "reset".
 
And yes I am slowing down. I am not adding any more fish for a few months. I wanna get it more stable before I do. And the sand didnt actually sit for that long. I didnt take any sand from that tank until a couple days before I set up the 105g. So it was only out of an actual tank setup for a few short days before going back in.
 
how did the old owner run the tank? was it a fish only tank? if it was they could have treated with copper and if they did that live rock is pretty much useless if you plan on keeping inverts.

do you have any copper or brass fittings in the tanks plumbing?

do you have kids that might have throun a penny in the tank?
 
I believe it was a fish only tank but I cant be 100% sure. When I came over to look at it there was only live rock and fish in there but there were lots of hermit crabs and they were thriving. In fact there were 3 hermits in there when I got it from them and they are still thriving in my current tank.

I dont ahve any copper or brass fittings on the tank. Its all pvc.

Do have kids, but not likely he threw anything in there. It is not like him adn he doesnt have that easy access to the tank anyway. I know that isnt the case.

I am starting to believe that it is from the tap water. I started the tank initially with Tap water and a week and a half ago I had to do about a 3g topoff with tap water because I couldnt get to the fish store to get clean water soon enough. (Yes I am looking into RODI units right now). I havent tested the tap water here yet but I am ordering a copper test kit and a reef kit and I am going to run all the tests I can on the tap water early next week to see what the results are. I am guessing not good!! Need to get that RODI unit SOON!!
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11697093#post11697093 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by mbbuna
how did the old owner run the tank? was it a fish only tank? if it was they could have treated with copper and if they did that live rock is pretty much useless if you plan on keeping inverts.

do you have any copper or brass fittings in the tanks plumbing?

do you have kids that might have throun a penny in the tank?
Click to expand...
Thinking the same thing. The copper could be coming from the rock or sand which may have absorbed it in the past. It will leech back. In the meantime run carbon and polypad. Polypad turns blue as it removes copper. Keep using new pieces every few days untill it stops turning.
 
How do I determine if it is in the rock?

And if it is, is there anything I can do to salvage it? Or am I going to have to replace the rock and sand completely?
 
If you run some slivers of polypad and get no blue color, that will indicate it is thoroughly absorbed. If hermits are living, it is not that bad...and polypad will remove it, given time. If it is leaching from rock or tank seams, you may have to run polypad longterm, but it will ultimately get it out.
 
ok so I was told when I started this tank that there isnt a need for any type of mechanical filter on the tank. So I dont have one. I actually have a penguin biowheel that I could use for polypads but I dont have a spot on my tank to install it.

First, DO I need a filter running? And if so what do you suggest?

Right now to remove copper I bought a jar of Seachem CupriSorb and placed it in a filter bag. That is dangling underneath the overflow output in my sump so that water is running through it. So far it seems to have helped some but I have had it on there for about 4 days and the copper is still around .05. Tho it was about about .2 at its worst.

Advise?
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11736914#post11736914 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by SirCharles77
ok so I was told when I started this tank that there isnt a need for any type of mechanical filter on the tank. So I dont have one. I actually have a penguin biowheel that I could use for polypads but I dont have a spot on my tank to install it.

First, DO I need a filter running? And if so what do you suggest?

Right now to remove copper I bought a jar of Seachem CupriSorb and placed it in a filter bag. That is dangling underneath the overflow output in my sump so that water is running through it. So far it seems to have helped some but I have had it on there for about 4 days and the copper is still around .05. Tho it was about about .2 at its worst.

Advise?
Click to expand...
Get the poly pad and set it up just like the Cuprisorb.
 
One other possible source since you are using tap water:

If your house is new (less than 2 years old), the copper piping could be leaching an above-normal level of copper into your tap water. Eventually the copper gets coated and the leaching is minimal, but in new pipes it can be a problem.

Kevin
 
My house was built in 2005. So it is pretty much brand new. I thought that might be the case and ran a copper test on the tap water but it came back negative. Tho it is possible that it could be different everytime you run the water right?
 
My house was built in 2005. So it is pretty much brand new. I thought that might be the case and ran a copper test on the tap water but it came back negative. Tho it is possible that it could be different everytime you run the water right?
 
You can cut a piece of polypad and put it in the sump. It's best in a higher flow area. I'm not familiar with th product you are using. I like polypad because the color change let's you know it's working.
 
most brand new homes use PEX pipe (blue and red water pipes) which don't contain copper. Just look at the pipes coming out of the water heater.

Chemi-pure is also supposed to remove copper, and worked great for me (and it is a well known product for other things too)
 
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