Tank With Copper

[ilikelps]

My friend and I (krulee here) are setting up a tank in school. We have an existing tank there that is about 65gal. and should be ok after a cleaning. The problem is, is that the water that was in it came through copper piping, and has been cleaned constantly with water from copper piping.

Now my question, is will the tank be able to support corals after this? Is there a way to sterilize it?

Or is it a loss, and should we move onto the 55gal. tank that is sitting in storage. (Reason im reluctant to use the 55 is that the dimensions are horrible, as im sure you know )

Thanks for any advice!

Ben

 

[sdheath]

Pretty much all water that has ever been in any of our tanks (except NSW) has come through copper pipes. Don't worry anbout it.

 

[krulee]

is there a certain way to treat it for the copper or with it eventually just dissipate?

 

[thebigdog]

I'm just taking a guess, but I think charcoal should work.

is there a certain way to treat it for the copper or with it eventually just dissipate?

 

[krulee]

ok thanks

 

[eddiesylas]

Aggressive skimming and "nutrient sucks" like xenia will lower trace elements (or heavy metal). Macro algae are also good for this but it is anybody's guess what algae assimilates copper. Do a search for "heavy metal" on the RC search engine or Reefkeeping magazine. I am sure your brain will hurt long before you are done reading. Let us know what you find out. EVERYBODY has copper piping and some level of copper in their tank. Just discourage the kiddies from making too many wishes...

 

[mikelaubach]

As Steve said above, don't worry about it. The copper pipe carrying fresh water is not absorbed by the water - the fresh water is not corrosive like saltwater is. If it were, we would not be using copper for water pipe, and we'd all have flooded basements. Now, if you are using copper in the transfer of saltwater for the reef tank (1) stop it, (2) that will lead to copper in the tank over time.

Carbon will not remove copper from a tank.
Do not use carbon to remove copper that was dosed in a tank, it does not work.
If you dosed copper into a tank, you cannot remove it without tearing the tank apart, cleaning it to ensure the porous glass does not trap copper, and rebuilding the tank with new silicon. IE - get a different tank.

Each of our homes, offices, businesses, and schools has copper pipe carrying our water from the source (well or the street) unless it has the new Pex plastic pipe. There is no problem, do not worry about it, there is no issue.

Hopefully that is clear.

 

[ilikelps]

Thanks guys, that was really helpful, and I'll keep you posted on how everything runs in the tank!

Ben

 

[renogaw]

mike, there are many issues with water being corrosive enough to eat away copper pipe...we replace leaks in water lines constantly due to pH issues.

 

[mikelaubach]

mike, there are many issues with water being corrosive enough to eat away copper pipe...we replace leaks in water lines constantly due to pH issues.

Define "constantly." I would venture to guess that the issue is primarily from those with wells? I would be surprised if this problem came from city water (or maybe I should not be after seeing some of the junk my whole house filter used to catch in the MA house with city water :wildone: ).

My point was that "freshwater is not as corrosive as saltwater." I'm certain there are examples to prove the opposite (isn't there always?). But how many have had copper problems in their tanks because they have copper supply lines in their homes? How many of the hundreds of thousands of reefers successfully use water that came through copper supply lines?

That was the point I was making.

 

[renogaw]

How many of the hundreds of thousands of reefers successfully use water that came through copper supply lines?

That was the point I was making.

we generally don't have copper in our salt water since we generally use ro or ro/di water to make the salt water, which filters out the copper. copper in tap water is a concern, but locally, look here:

http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2005-05/rhf/index.php

i've also read somewhere that if someone were to use ro/di water through copper lines, the water is more aggressive due to the deionization and will absorb copper much faster.

 

[renogaw]

btw, i forgot to mention in everything, that if you're really worried about copper, use

it changes colors as it absorbs heavy metals

http://www.underworldproducts.co.uk/index.php/aquatic/polyfilter

 

[mikelaubach]

we generally don't have copper in our salt water since we generally use ro or ro/di water to make the salt water, which filters out the copper. copper in tap water is a concern, but locally, look here:

http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2005-05/rhf/index.php

That is copper in the water supply, not from the house pipes though.

i've also read somewhere that if someone were to use ro/di water through copper lines, the water is more aggressive due to the deionization and will absorb copper much faster.

That I could believe, especially in light of the "crushed coral final stage because the pH is low" discussion recently. Frankly, for me, and probably alot of people, the 1/4" plastic is just easier to use than adapting back to copper. I love the flexibility of attaching to a bucket, and even on the sink faucet, the plastic line was much easier to route up into the sink base and hook up. :bounce3:

 

[ilikelps]

Renogaw, that seems likes a good idea, if I find I have issues.

Ben

 

[krulee]

i think we will end up using two side to side 20 tall tanks just so we can have diversity

 

[rexdenton]

is there a certain way to treat it for the copper or with it eventually just dissipate?

I second renogaw's endorsement of the foam pad called "Poly-filter". It is very effective and provides colorimetric feedback for adsorbed copper. When there is lots of copper, it turns a pretty obvious shade of bluish green. You may need to run several of these for awhile if copper has leached from your pipes to any significant degree. I like this product better than cuprisorb and similar resins, as you can tell if you have a problem or not simply by the appearance of color. While Charcoal will adsorb a small amount of trace metals, its capacity is very limited for the removal of inorganic material; it won't adsorb metals to any significant capacity.

FWIW, copper is a trace metal in some additives and some foods. At low levels, no problems. That said you can start your Cu++ mitigation strategy, and once you feel comfortable that you have reduced your copper to the limit that is possible, add a large fan (cocoa) worm. They aren't expensive, and are abundantly obtainable. Copper is very toxic to most invertebrates. If your worm isn't happy and out a good part of the day, chances are you still have a Cu++ problem. Worms are great tank barometers.