Major reef problem.

[fishnugget]

hOW

hOW

do you find out if a pump is creating the problem? what and how do you check?

I keep doing water changes, and polyfilters keep turning blue.

 

[ddenham]

try dropping a polyfilter into some new RO/Di water, see if it turns blue

 

[theyeg2]

Do you have any young children or visitors that may have dropped something into the tank like a penny?

Are you having any other problems like red slime algae or excessive diatoms?

 

[reiple]

have you heard of the story about a little girl dropping pennies inside the sump so her daddy can save money for his hobby?

someone or something might be putting toxic material inside. good luck i hope you solve your problem.

 

[mr.wilson]

A blue Poly Filter is clear evidence of a substantial amount of copper in your system. The reaction your corals are having confirms this.

Do you have any copper fittings in your source water effluent? You need to make sure that all of your compression fittings have plastic nipples, not the standard copper ones. The drinking water attachment that some filters have must also be plastic lined, as many are copper.

Treated source water (RO/DI) is very aggressive, and will quickly dissolve any copper it comes in contact with.

Poly Filters, SeaChem's Cuprisorb, Kent Marine's Toxic Metal Sponge, and Aquatronics' Coppaway will all remove any free or bound (in calcareous media) Cu.

Have you added any new rock or sand recently? Copper is bound in calcareous media and will leach out in time. Some retailers will "recycle" rock and sand that has been in there fish systems where copper medications are used.

Testing your tap water, treated source water, reservoir water, and tank water for copper will help isolate the source of the problem.

 

[samtheman]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7756230#post7756230 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by mr.wilson
.
Treated source water (RO/DI) is very aggressive, and will quickly dissolve any copper it comes in contact with.

This has not been my experience. How do you know this to be true. Copper tubing is used in homes because it doesn't dissolve in normal water. Its dissolution in water depends on PH.
Can you explain?

 

[Ken668]

I'm by no means an expert on this topic, but maybe RO/DI water is more reactive than "normal" water. It might take up copper ions at a faster rate therefore slowly disolving it over time. I'm sure not many of us have copper on the output side of our RO/DI systems, so I for one am curious if this is the case.

 

[samtheman]

Dissolving copper requires a certain PH. How can RO water be more "reactive" just because it is pure. How bad must distilled water be then?

I have used copper valves downstream of my RO filter for 4 years. No visible corrosion yet. I wonder why?

I do agree salt water will corrode copper very quickly, but not drinking water. I am still waiting for an explanation on RO water, but I doubt it will dissolve copper based on my experience and its PH.