removing copper from an old aquarium

[philagothos]

I've read that copper can be removed from an old aquarium with the use of muriatic acid. How is this best accomplished? It's only a 10 gallon aquarium. I put 9 gallons of water in (enough to cover all of the blue silicon) and added 2 cups of muriatic acid. This did not seem to have much of an effect, so I added 2 more cups of acid. 48 hours later and the silicon is still blue. Will the blue fade away as the copper dissolves, or is it permanently colored? Do I need to get some rubber gloves and scrub the tank? According to the label it is 20 Baume Hydrochloric Acid 31.45%.

Has the copper likely been neutralized already or do I need to do something further to eliminate it. I don't have a copper test kit, but from what I read they are useless anyways because any amount that would show up is already way beyond lethal.

Final question, after treating an aquarium with muriatic acid, what is the best way to make it hospitable to life again (what kind of clean-up so I need to do)?

Thanks,
-Kevin

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

The blue silicon is not likely copper. More likely a blue organic medication. Do not expect to to go away, or to be a concern.


I'd dilute the hydrochloric with 10 parts tap water, then use a brush and scrub over the glass surfaces. If there are deposits that remain after careful rinsing, you might try bleach on them.

Just water rinsing will make it OK to use again after acid, but you can toss in a little baking soda in a last rinse to be sure.

[philagothos]

Thanks Randy. Sounds like I need to bump up the amount of HCl and find a brush. The tank was previously used for freshwater and treated for ich, so I'm assuming it has copper in it (used QuICK Cure brand). The Quick Cure bottle lists active ingrediants as Formalin and Malachite Green.

Hmm... I just did some quick looking and found this website that says Malachite Green does not contain copper. http://badmanstropicalfish.com/copper.html From what I can find formalin is not a source of copper either. But, the bottle specifically says not to use it in reef aquariums. Is copper in modern ich medicines a myth?! An urban legend lasting from decades ago? OK, being a little dramatic here, but is it possible that there is really nothing to worry about?

Thanks,
-Kevin

PS: I'm still going to give the aquarium a nice HCl bath.

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

Many people use copper for various diseases (whether it works or not), but the colored silicone is not an indication of its use as best I can tell. Cleaning as if it were exposed is the best precaution. :)

Good luck!