Tanks + Copper

[jackson6745]

I see quite a few guys saying you can't use a tank that has been treated with copper for a reef. Has anyone personally had problems with copper leaching out of the silicone or is it just a myth?
In the past I used a 46gal bow front treated with copper for corals and I didn't have any problems.

 

[Vic8361]

Good thread Rich I doubt it would have any major effect.
But then again what do I know.
Nice to see you back on board.

Vic

 

[1UCKY]

I see quite a few guys saying you can't use a tank that has been treated with copper for a reef. Has anyone personally had problems with copper leaching out of the silicone or is it just a myth?
In the past I used a 46gal bow front treated with copper for corals and I didn't have any problems.

Personally, I think this a myth. I know people that had previously coppered there tanks (FOWLR) and converted their tanks to a reef with no ill affect.

 

[pecan2phat]

I have a 90g from 1987 & you know that the cooper was free flowing back in them days with just fish & dead coral decos. It now supports fish, live rock and some rbta's.
Not saying that a full blown reef can or cannot be done but the anemones are doing well.

 

[masterswimmer]

About 3/4 of the way down Randy Holmes Farley briefly addresses this topic.

Obviously from personal experiences mentioned above, there appears to be some questions that still need answering.

swimmer

 

[lazibonez]

I had tried a product called Cuprisorb by Seachem on a tank that was dosed with coppersafe before on a coral tank, seemed to work great, never had problem with softies on that tank. I just dump it in a HOB filter and run it constantly.

http://www.marinedepot.com/ps_ViewI...r_Media_Chemical_Copper_Removers~vendor~.html

 

[Pseudo]

Yes i think it wpuld affect corals if the tank had heavy dosages of copper or run consistently with it. Yes I have had a reef tank in copper tanks with hardly any affects. So I think it is bullshit.

Kasei

 

[ming]

I think the trace amounts it would leech out is too minimal to cause any damage because I have used a net to scoop out a fish from water that contained copper and the same net went into my reef. This has been done almost every new fish I bought with no ill effect.
Also, I've used a tank which has been medicated by the previous owner (I don't know what kind, but it turned the silicone blue and god knows what else he used) and that was in a full blown reef tank for over a year, again with no ill effects.

 

[jhale]

I thought it was more about the inverts than the coral.
Kasei what's "hardly" any effects mean?

 

[marrone]

I had a tank, which had copper in it before, I place a starfish in it and it died pretty fast. Never placed any corals in a tank that previously had copper but for the cost of everything I wouldn't take a chance just to save a few bucks on a cheap tank.

I've also had some inverts, like hermits and crabs, in tanks not only that had been dosed with copper but still had copper in them and they were fine. So there is a level that some things can take copper without any problems.

 

[Psycho graphic]

I've said this before and I'll say it again. The residual cooper in the silicone is NOT a renewable source. The amount that can leach out eventualy has to run out, if not resupplied. If the amount that can leach out is substantial, it will be a short time before it is deplenished. If it a trace amount, and I'm talking a minute amount, then it should not build up faster than your water changes would remove it.

I have used tanks that have had copper in them without any problems. I have argued this point with many people and not one has given me any facts as to how much or for how long silicone will leach copper. All I've ever got in reply is" well this or that died because I used a tank that had copper in it at one time". Things die in our tanks all the time without a clue as to the cause, so the copper theory does'nt fly in my book.

The point that no one has given me proof of how much does actually leach out does'nt make me right either, but I DO acknowledge that copper can leach out of the silicone. I just don't think it makes the tank unusable as a reef forever.

 

[KathyC]

I agree with Dave (Psycho)..but must add..IF the tank (and/or equipment)has been thoroughly scrubbed & rinsed & air dried after the copper was used. Definitely not in the case of an actively running tank.


Deplenished???? Is that a word?

 

[1UCKY]

Great Topic:thrash:......

 

[sporty]

My first reef tank was a 40 gallon fresh water that had been dosed with lots of copper from 12 years of use I had no ill affects keeping corals.

 

[Chiefmcfuz]

My first 29 G tank had been a FW tank and dosed with copper many times. When I switched to SW (About a year before finding MR) I couldn't keep a Hermit Crab or a snail alive for anything. I talked with my friend at the LFS, Yes he's honest and knows his isht, He told me the reason was the copper meds. So I broke down bought a new tank, sand, rock, Heater, PH's and then no problems.

 

[JLAudio]

could we test these hypothesis out? Possible using a tank that was formally a qt for some time and then clean out and run for a period of time. Wouldnt a tds meter or copper test pick up on presence of copper? By doing this we could see if it actually stays present in the water after a period of time, hense the "leaching out of copper" theory or see if its just a myth

 

[Tim]

I have a customer that has a fish only w/ Lr and I only used tap water for the tank. We later found out that his well was loaded with copper and the tank had been running for a while. No affects on the fish or the two choc. chip starfish he has in the tank. I am going to get some snails and hermits to test them out I`ll post my results...

 

[ming]

You will also need to take account of how much sand/live rock is in the tanks as they will absorb the copper out of the water if its leeched out of the silcone.

 

[fritz]

I think if you take into account the laws of osmosis and account for the rocks and sand it's pretty minimal. I wouldn't take rock and a tank that was running in a FOWLR with copper but a tank I would. After enough water changes no matter how much copper the silicone had seen it will be removed.

I also recall using some type of "pad" that removed copper in the late 80s. It turned purple IIRC as it absorbed the copper from your system.

 

[Psycho graphic]

There called Poly Filters and they turn Blue with copper.

My tank now has 1 large piece of of a coral skeleton that was in my 150 FO tank that was treated with copper many times, although that was about 25 yrs ago.