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11/05/2008, 07:08 AM
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#1 |
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Registered Member
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: Pulaski, WI
Posts: 1,368
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Copper vs Glass Aquarium
I'm considering purchasing a used 180 gallon tank that had once been treated with copper. It's been several years since copper has last been added, and the tank had been decorated with calcareous materials (coral skeletons and crushed coral substrate). Of course, I will not be using anyo f those materials.
If I purchase this tank, I want to use it for my SPS reef. Should I be concerned about any residual copper? Does copper somehow adhere to silicon and/or the glass?
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SG - 1.025 pH - 8.1 NH4/NH3 - 0 mg/L NO2 - .003 mg/L NO3 - .2 mg/L Calc. - 420 dKH - 8.0 Flow ~ 80x Current Tank Info: 24" cube SPS Reef, 15 gal sump, 1- LumenBright Pendant with 250w 20K Phoenix lamp, 1 - Vortech MP40, ATB 840 v1.5 skimmer. |
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11/05/2008, 07:12 AM
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#2 |
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Registered Member
Join Date: Sep 2004
Location: Syracuse, NY
Posts: 13,574
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I had read that copper will stay in the silicone. If it were me, and I were planning SPS, I'd pass on the tank. I mean, I'm not sure, but I'm definitely cautious. Why spend all that cash and get that far into it and find out it was a bad idea....
just my 2 cents....
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People say cars are a bad investment. Those people don't have reef tanks. Current Tank Info: 120, Radion Gen 2 Pro x 2 |
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11/05/2008, 07:55 AM
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#3 |
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Registered Member
Join Date: Dec 2007
Posts: 2,575
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ask the owner to put a few inches in the bottom with a garden hose. Let it sit for a day or two, then test the garden hose and test the tank with a copper test. No copper, then go ahead
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I hope it never catches on, I like having the oldest tank on here and I don't have to worry about calcification, bio pellets, Vodka dosing, DSBs, Chaetomorpha (I don't even know what that is) Carbonite hardness and all of these other things many people worry about. If I had to think about all of that stuff I would get a stroke. My test kit came in a wooden box and the directions say to keep in a cool chariott. I throw some food in the tank, wave hello to the fish and go out with my wife and have a nice glass of merlot with dinner. Have a great day but most of all, have fun. -PaulB Current Tank Info: 27 Gallon DAS softy/fish reef |
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11/05/2008, 08:18 AM
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#4 |
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Registered Member
Join Date: Jul 2005
Location: Fort Worth, TX
Posts: 623
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Wouldn't washing the tank out with white vinegar remove the copper?
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Glenn Current Tank Info: 90G w/20L Sump/Refugium, 6 T5 lights @54W ea., Reef Octopus EXT-PS-120, DSB/LR ,SPS, Derasa, GBTA, Zoo's, Fish, Inverts. |
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11/05/2008, 08:59 AM
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#5 |
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Registered Member
Join Date: Jan 2004
Location: Roanoke, Va.
Posts: 472
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i have reused rock after it was treated in a quarantine tank dosed with copper its never caused me any problem. i would say use it.
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11/05/2008, 09:25 AM
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#6 |
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Recovering Detritophobe
Join Date: Jan 2004
Location: Cary, NC
Posts: 7,443
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I think your fine...
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If it's worth doing, it's worth doing right. I remember when zoanthids were called things like "green" and "orange" and not "reverse gorilla nipple." Current Tank Info: 180g reef with all the bells and whistles |
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11/05/2008, 09:33 AM
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#7 |
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Meat Popsicle
Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: Portland, OR
Posts: 1,511
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I have heard that silicone will collect copper, however I believe it is a myth. Everything that I know about silicone makes collecting deposits of anything unlikely, that's one of the best things about it. Also, the crushed coral and coral skeletons would have been likely to grab up any copper over time. I think it would likely be fine.
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-- He who learns must suffer, and, even in our sleep, pain that cannot forget falls drop by drop upon the heart, and in our own despair, against our will, comes wisdom to us by the awful grace of God. -- Aeschylus |
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