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vandj
09/03/2008, 11:26 PM
ok, so i guy i know bought a used tank, LR, and LS from a guy that got it from some one else.....

all of his snails are dying off pretty much as soon as he adds them, mine from the same source and shippment are doing fine.

thought it could be copper so he got a test kit( IO brand) and it showed a result of 0.10...

he has never added copper to the tank everything that touches water is either glass or plastic. could this be from prior owner doseing the copper and how long will it stay in the sand/rock with frequent water changes?

is the copper the culprit? ammonia 0ppm, nitrites 0ppm, nitrate 0 ppm, ph 8.2, temp 81-82, sg 1.026 on a refractometer

thanks for the help.
bertoni
09/04/2008, 12:46 AM
The problem might be copper. Hard to say. If so, the only way to deal with the problem is to tear down the tank. I'd be surprised if that copper result was accurate down to that many decimal points. You might try measuring some water from your system as a control. That's a lot of copper.
vandj
09/04/2008, 07:24 AM
tested my tabk and it showed 0, retested his and he got the 0.10 again...
vandj
09/04/2008, 11:33 PM
no one has any ideas?
bertoni
09/04/2008, 11:41 PM
That's a lot of copper, if correct, and could kill snails and other invertebrates. I'd dedicate the tank to fish-only or tear it down. He might also try running a PolyFilter continuously.
vandj
09/05/2008, 12:23 AM
if replaced the substrate, used a poly filter, and a chemical type remover, will it continue to leach out of the rock now that it has been exposed to copper? planing on huge water changes but we belive it is coming from the used LS. a tank with out inverts aint worth keeping.
bertoni
09/05/2008, 12:32 AM
If the rock has been exposed to copper, it could continue leaching it for a long time.
vandj
09/05/2008, 07:43 PM
will skimming remove copper?
tmz
09/05/2008, 11:04 PM
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13298854#post13298854 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by vandj
will skimming remove copper? :) no,I don't believe so with the possible exception of any that was bound up by bacteria that might be exported by the skimmer.
bertoni
09/06/2008, 12:02 AM
A PolyFilter might be the best bet.
tmz
09/06/2008, 06:35 AM
+1 for polyfilter
vandj
09/06/2008, 07:43 AM
poly filter forever or will it eventually stop leaching?
bertoni
09/06/2008, 01:00 PM
It might stop leaching, or might leach intermittently. I'd keep a PolyFilter in the tank.