AlanM June 12, 2014 June 12, 2014 what about getting a copper test kit and seeing how much is in there? Salifert Cu test is $20 from BulkReefSupply and probably around that at local retailers.
scott3569 June 12, 2014 Author June 12, 2014 I did test for copper, only with API, that showed nothing, or it was to low for it to see..I thought about getting the salifert test. and john also said that wouldn't be a bad idea.. I guess my thoughts process is that.. I know there is copper in there(how much no I don't know). the website that John suggested to me said that they can test for much lower levels than we could even think of in home.. I think that was his reason for suggesting them.. also my thought process as far as the poly filter..is that maybe if it is a low enough level maybe I could get lucky and the next poly filter would not show that..I dont really know this..but thats where my mind is taking me..
morgan175 June 12, 2014 June 12, 2014 Seachem makes a pouch that takes out copper. I always run it in my tank. I put a new one in every 6 months. I had copper once in my tank I just use it as security. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
scott3569 June 12, 2014 Author June 12, 2014 Seachem makes a pouch that takes out copper. I always run it in my tank. I put a new one in every 6 months. I had copper once in my tank I just use it as security. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk ok thats cool, poly filter also takes it out, my real question was the plan of action that I have in place..that i posted on #25
davelin315 June 12, 2014 June 12, 2014 Copper and heavy metals can take time to have an effect on your inverts - it is typically not a lethal dose that they are exposed to but a gradual buildup of what eventually end up as lethal amounts. In terms of the amount of copper in your water, natural seawater does contain traces of it but if your poly filter turned blue to show you have copper in the water, it is probably a lot more than you should have. I am not sure that testing is worthwhile, although it may lead to a decision on whether to maintain your rock. The reason I say this is that the copper in your water has been removed or reduced by exposure to the poly filter - copper that has soaked into your rock, however, has not. That will remain in there and slowly leach out over time. I am unsure of whether you can accurately measure for this or not. If the test is really expensive, it may not show you anything at all. I would pull a rock and clean it up, then stick it in RO/DI water on top of a poly filter to see whether it turns blue at all. That will help to show if you have residual copper coming out of the rock. I would definitely wait for one of our chemistry buffs on here to weigh in.
John Ford June 12, 2014 June 12, 2014 Ok since were on the subject of copper and I realized that maybe I should ask somewhere else but... What do people with copper pipes going into their house do for their ro/di? As their filters get older do they run the risk of introducing it into their tanks?
scott3569 June 13, 2014 Author June 13, 2014 Ok since were on the subject of copper and I realized that maybe I should ask somewhere else but... What do people with copper pipes going into their house do for their ro/di? As their filters get older do they run the risk of introducing it into their tanks? I will be running into the same issue..as I have copper and brass fittings in the house I am in...about the only thing you can do is make sure there you do regular maintance on the filter..I would assume
scott3569 June 13, 2014 Author June 13, 2014 Copper and heavy metals can take time to have an effect on your inverts - it is typically not a lethal dose that they are exposed to but a gradual buildup of what eventually end up as lethal amounts. In terms of the amount of copper in your water, natural seawater does contain traces of it but if your poly filter turned blue to show you have copper in the water, it is probably a lot more than you should have. I am not sure that testing is worthwhile, although it may lead to a decision on whether to maintain your rock. The reason I say this is that the copper in your water has been removed or reduced by exposure to the poly filter - copper that has soaked into your rock, however, has not. That will remain in there and slowly leach out over time. I am unsure of whether you can accurately measure for this or not. If the test is really expensive, it may not show you anything at all. I would pull a rock and clean it up, then stick it in RO/DI water on top of a poly filter to see whether it turns blue at all. That will help to show if you have residual copper coming out of the rock. I would definitely wait for one of our chemistry buffs on here to weigh in. I am guessing that some inverts are more sensitive than others, I really would have figured the CBS would have taken a bow before anything else..I think I may hold off on that test..or I can order it..and hold on to it.. where would you go from here??
davelin315 June 13, 2014 June 13, 2014 Copper pipes do minimal damage to an RO/DI as you are using cold water which doesn't leach as much out of the pipes. Where you went wrong was the brass being exposed to the saltwater and that is what caused your issues as the brass degraded and became dealloyed (I think that is the term for the zinc and copper separating and dissolving into the water). In terms of where to head with it, I would see what happens with a piece of rock as I suggested and also see how long it takes your poly filter to turn blue. Was it light blue or a deep blue? I suppose you could also take a piece of rock and then dissolve it with acid and then neutralize it and have that tested for copper content, but I am definitely not an expert on copper and have thrown out rock I felt might have been contaminated or used it for fish only or QT purposes.
scott3569 June 13, 2014 Author June 13, 2014 Copper pipes do minimal damage to an RO/DI as you are using cold water which doesn't leach as much out of the pipes. Where you went wrong was the brass being exposed to the saltwater and that is what caused your issues as the brass degraded and became dealloyed (I think that is the term for the zinc and copper separating and dissolving into the water). In terms of where to head with it, I would see what happens with a piece of rock as I suggested and also see how long it takes your poly filter to turn blue. Was it light blue or a deep blue? I suppose you could also take a piece of rock and then dissolve it with acid and then neutralize it and have that tested for copper content, but I am definitely not an expert on copper and have thrown out rock I felt might have been contaminated or used it for fish only or QT purposes. right now the poly is light blue, like an aqua..and it has been 1 week with it..So, I guess I will hold off, and see what this poly filter does..yeah I am not even sure why I went with the brass fitting.
John Ford June 13, 2014 June 13, 2014 Now this is Paul B so what works for him doesn't work for anyone else but... http://wamas.org/forums/topic/66835-why-i-hate-water-changes/?do=findComment&comment=597222 In this thread you can see he has a reactor that uses a brass fitting and he hasn't had copper issue from it. Or is it the Blackworms that make fish immune to copper?
scott3569 June 13, 2014 Author June 13, 2014 Now this is Paul B so what works for him doesn't work for anyone else but... http://wamas.org/forums/topic/66835-why-i-hate-water-changes/?do=findComment&comment=597222 In this thread you can see he has a reactor that uses a brass fitting and he hasn't had copper issue from it. Or is it the Blackworms that make fish immune to copper? That is interesting, If the brass fitting is not being corroded I could see that maybe it is not an issue..But the fitting I had I noticed some blue corrosion on the fitting it self where the two hoses met..In turn I also had placed that in my saltwater mixing bucket...As with almost everything in this hobby that I have seen so far there seems to be many varied opinions on just about any subject...So my brass fitting may have been the issue and it may not have been the issue..It makes it very difficult for someone such as myself to really understand where the issue may be since it doesn't seem to be so cut and dry... I just read this morning that brittle stars are less tolerant to copper than CBS. But I have also read that snail have a very low tolerance, even though I have lost some snails I have not lost all..and I still have my hermits in there also.. Not only that, I have also read this morning that certain levels of copper in different forms are always in the aquarium, it is in some foods, some trace elements and even in the salt mixes.. if that is the case, then it may very well be that the brass fitting did not contribute much at all, but maybe brought the levels up high enough to take out the brittle and the emerald.. it seems the more I dig the more confused i get and then the more questions i end up having, it is getting to be a continuous viscous circle...***sigh***
Origami June 13, 2014 June 13, 2014 Now this is Paul B so what works for him doesn't work for anyone else but... http://wamas.org/forums/topic/66835-why-i-hate-water-changes/?do=findComment&comment=597222 In this thread you can see he has a reactor that uses a brass fitting and he hasn't had copper issue from it. Or is it the Blackworms that make fish immune to copper? Is that brass or is it a plastic-body valve? The way that the light reflects off of it, it looks like plastic. (I had to zoom into the picture - it sort of looks like plastic.)
John Ford June 13, 2014 June 13, 2014 Is that brass or is it a plastic-body valve? The way that the light reflects off of it, it looks like plastic. (I had to zoom into the picture - it sort of looks like plastic.) Guess it could be plastic now that you mention it. I dunno
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