Used copper in tank (1 Viewer)

[Guest]

I used copper in a 40G to try to treat some disease infested fish. It died the next day. If I clean the tank really really good, can I use it again with corals? I know what reefalot will tell me, no way, but look at his tanks. I want to use it as a prop tank, but am kinda concerned about the silicon that might have absorbed it. I only dosed the tank once and the fish died the next day. Man I am posting a lot on here. Thanks for any help.

Eric

 

[Guest]

Nope because the copper will have leached into the silicon.

 

[Guest]

Great, so that 40 gallon can basically be a fish only tank.

 

[Niko5]

A 40 Gal Fresh Water Tank

 

[Guest]

You could always scrape out the old silicon and put in new one

 

[Guest]

One stupid thing I did was take some of the rock out of that tank, let it sit in chlorinated water for a day or 2 and then put the rock in my REEF TANK!!!!!! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!

 

[Guest]

One stupid thing I did was take some of the rock out of that tank, let it sit in chlorinated water for a day or 2 and then put the rock in my REEF TANK!!!!!! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!

Doh!!

 

[imsuperjp]

I feel ya. I did the same thing once on the advice of a stupid LFS.

 

[Guest]

At the time I didnt know it soaked up the copper and now xenia and rose anemones are on them and everything seems to be fine. Just wait one day I will walk in there and everything will be dead. Stupid dead fish and copper!

 

[Cakepro]

I have to disagree based on experience...my reef tank has live rock, live sand, fish, inverts, LPS corals, SPS corals, and soft corals. Before it was a reef tank, I used copper in it for two weeks (I think) to treat my fish (without sand or LR, obviously). When the copper treatment was over, I simply used BioMarine Poly Filter (not just plain 2-ply filter material) to remove the copper, ditched the water, and started the tank over.

My reef tank is thriving, if I may say so myself, and there have never been any unexplained deaths in my tank.

I did not remove and replace the silicone, by the way. When the PolyFilter showed no more traces of copper, I declared the tank free for use as a reef tank. No problems.

~ Sherri

 

[SeanB]

This is just personal opinion, but I think you'd probably be OK as long as you clean the tank out good and maybe go over the silicone with food grade grease. The grease is used to seal in moisture on tanks when they are put in dry storage and likewise may help prevent, or slow, any copper from returning to the water. I would also recommend running carbon in your filter for a few days after startup.

We all say that any copper is harmfull but there must be a point at which copper can be sufficiently diluted as to not harm the corals.

I think that after only one day of treatment not enough copper would have leached into the silicone to assume that it is terminally tainted.

Again, this is only my opinion and what I would do if it were MY tank. The risk taken is all yours so procede with whatever precautions you think is appropriate.

 

[Cakepro]

Food grade grease...isn't that marketed as Crisco? LOL

Has anyone ever actually proven that silicone absorbs, retains, and/or leaches out copper? I bet this is an urban reef legend.

~ Sherri

 

[Guest]

I bet this is an urban reef legend.

~ Sherri

That just sounds funny

 

[ShaneV]

We all say that any copper is harmfull but there must be a point at which copper can be sufficiently diluted as to not harm the corals

Its not just corals, but also smaller things like pods. I would think it would take a lot less concentration to kill pods than most corals.

 

[SeanB]

It depends on their sensitivity. No doubt trace amounts can be fatal to many marine creatures.

My point here I guess is that I think there may be some overestimation of the amount of copper that can be absorbed and then rereleased from a small amount of silicone with a very minimal exposure.

Since the side effects of copper exposure are so dire, it is very understandable that people would want to ere on the side of caution.

 

[djreef]

I agree with Sherri. I wouldn't worry about it. I have corals, bugs, worms, yadda yadda yadda...growing in my FOWLR setup. The same that I nuked with copper for 6-8 weeks when I first set it up (killing velvet). That was with sand and everything except the liverock, which I added a couple of years later. It's been thriving for 6+years now. Just run carbon and/or polyfilters continuously (something you should do anyway) and you won't have any problems.


DJ
= 8-->{I>

 

[ShaneV]

DId a little research, this comes from Wet Web Media:

<What typically 'bonds' with the silicone in the tank is the organic dye that is an additional ingredient in most copper solutions. Silicone in general doesn't react to copper.>

So maybe depending on what copper treatment is used can vary its ability to get into silicone?

 

[Guest]

Well thanks for all the responses. I wanted to mention that the tank has been completely dry and outside now for a few weeks. I was going to set it up with a sump with bioballs, refugium etc from ebay. I wonder if when I start it up and let it cycle I can put that polypad somewhere to soak up anything that may leach out of the silicone or if during the cycle process, it wont even matter by that time. Thanks again.

Eric

 

[SeanB]

Food grade grease...isn't that marketed as Crisco? LOL

~ Sherri

I don't know if I'd want Crisco in the tank. The fish might get the wrong idea. 8O

Actually, food grade grease is the type that is used to lubricate food service equipment - non toxic and stuff.

 

[Guest]

One more opinion here- Follow Dr. Shimeks procedure for acid then bleach decontamination. you can find it on reef-central.

If your still unsure, fill with water, wait, and test for copper.