View Full Version : old tank for sump... copper?
Thinslis
01/01/2009, 03:47 PM
I just picked up an old 20g tank from someone who said it was setup as freshwater before from someone else. So basicly no info regarding what chemicals might have been used in its freshwater days... Is copper or other chemicals a concern here? I'm going to use it for a sump.
WaterKeeper
01/01/2009, 04:52 PM
Just do a quick decontamination before using it. Take a gallon of white vinegar and add it to the tank. Fill it up and let sit overnight. Rinse well, and your in business.
Thinslis
01/01/2009, 06:04 PM
Thanks WK =) You rock!
I just happen to have 3 gallons of white vinegar laying around.... really =) Good opertunity to put one to use.
you can put a small strip of polyfilter in the waterflow: if it turns bluish you have a copper problem with that tank. It will also remove the copper, but I wouldn't link it into the tank until I was sure about that issue.
WaterKeeper
01/02/2009, 06:58 PM
C.J. doesn't trust me. :D
Niether should you. :eek1:
One day I'll will find out why people don't know that copper really doesn't bond that well to glass or silicone. A vinegar soak or, even better, adding about a heaping teaspoon per gallon of citric acid will bring it into solution and let you rinse it down the drain.
Having said that, I refer you back to paragraph two. ;)
Stormvillefish
01/02/2009, 07:26 PM
Sorry for the hijack ... but would the vinegar get rid of copper that may be left on rock? Some rock from a freshwater tank where the person may have used Aquari-Sol (which I believe is copper sulfate) every now and then as an ick preventer ... would the rock retain the copper? Believe it or not this person had some live rock and used it in a freshwater set-up. Would soaking the rock in a vinegar/water solution get rid of the copper? Thanks for any info you can provide!
-Mike
WaterKeeper
01/02/2009, 07:38 PM
Hi Mike,
Copper does bond to carbonates, the same material as in reef rock. If the rock is alive then the vinegar soak will kill it in the process. You have a unique case. The LR came from FW and was probably exposed to high levels of copper while there. I would pretty much assume it is finished as true LR for a marine tank. Yet, it makes good base rock so go ahead an use a vinegar soak. You'll need to up the ante as the alkaline rock will neutralize the vinegar. You may need to use full strength. The rock, if reef rock, will bubble like crazy but, after the bubbling stops, remove it at once and rinse well. Let it soak for about two days and then check the water for copper. If it is close to zero then you can use it. Since the rock will be base rock you'll need some fresh LR to seed it.
jenglish
01/02/2009, 07:53 PM
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14065821#post14065821 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by WaterKeeper
Hi Mike,
Copper does bond to carbonates, the same material as in reef rock. If the rock is alive then the vinegar soak will kill it in the process. You have a unique case. The LR came from FW and was probably exposed to high levels of copper while there. I would pretty much assume it is finished as true LR for a marine tank. Yet, it makes good base rock so go ahead an use a vinegar soak. You'll need to up the ante as the alkaline rock will neutralize the vinegar. You may need to use full strength. The rock, if reef rock, will bubble like crazy but, after the bubbling stops, remove it at once and rinse well. Let it soak for about two days and then check the watehat thougr for copper. If it is close to zero then you can use it. Since the rock will be base rock you'll need some fresh LR to seed it.
WIll this remove PO4 as well? I have heard of people using full strenght vinegar or half strength muriatic acid as a way to get the same stripped dry base as cooking rock (except of course it will be sterile) again, sorry for hijacking the thread further
To the OP:
silicone will usually discolor if heavily exposed to copper. there are copper absorbing media but I am unsure of their effectiveness. If a WK says vinegar will do I would tend to belief him. If you have doubts you can always throw some FW shrimp in to test a tank for copper as a mine canary. I would think they would be jsut as sensitive to copper as any SW invert. I could be wrong about that though.
WaterKeeper
01/02/2009, 07:57 PM
It should remove surface bonded phosphate as well. Especially if you go the muriatic route.
kernyboy
01/02/2009, 09:32 PM
if you cant find vinegar, fill with a gallon of orange juice.
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