Penny in water

[Susanedw]

Okay, this might seem very silly but I just mixed up almost 20 gal of rodi water with salt a couple hours ago. On the way of wheeling it to my office to do a water change, I see a penny in the bottom of the can. The can has had 20 gal of rodi water in it for a couple weeks, holding for the next water change. Salt went in today, though there could have been some residue salt water left over from last water change--can't remember if I used every last drop but I did not see a penny in the can at that time..

I have no idea how it got there or for how long. Can I use this mixed up salt water or should I dump it.

 

[Pat24601]

Okay, this might seem very silly but I just mixed up almost 20 gal of rodi water with salt a couple hours ago. On the way of wheeling it to my office to do a water change, I see a penny in the bottom of the can. The can has had 20 gal of rodi water in it for a couple weeks, holding for the next water change. Salt went in today, though there could have been some residue salt water left over from last water change--can't remember if I used every last drop but I did not see a penny in the can at that time..

I have no idea how it got there or for how long. Can I use this mixed up salt water or should I dump it.

I remember @Paul B saying they used to do copper treatments in saltwater literally by putting pennies in the tank to do copper treatment. So, it's definitely not a silly question.

See what he or @DaveK say, but unless they say otherwise I'd dump it and start over.

I'm definitely not an expert though. They are.

 

[DaveK]

Yes, years ago it was common practice to use copper pennies for disease treatments in the tank. This was before there were reliable copper test kits, and before reef systems. As I recall the "dosage" was something like 3 pennies per 20 gal of water. Today pennies are mostly made zinc so this method is definitely something you don't want to do.

If you have a copper test kit you can test the water, but for 20 gal of water, I'd just toss it, clean the container and start over. If nothing else, it's for peace of mind.

 

[Susanedw]

What a pain but will do. How do I clean the container. Copper test came out negative but I don't want to cause problems. No idea if it was in there last time and I didn't see it.

 

[DaveK]

You should be fine if you just scrub out the container.

 

[Pat24601]

What a pain but will do. How do I clean the container. Copper test came out negative but I don't want to cause problems. No idea if it was in there last time and I didn't see it.

Once again, not an expert, but I'd literally just rinse it out with water and a paper towel wipe down. Nothing big. Defintely no cleaning chemicals.

 

[Squatch XXL]

Today pennies are mostly made zinc so this method is definitely something you don't want to do.

Pre 64 US coins are made with real metals. I pull them all out of circulation as I find them, and advise others to do the same. A 1963 quarter in poor condition is still worth its weight at at least a few dollars.

What a pain but will do. How do I clean the container. Copper test came out negative but I don't want to cause problems. No idea if it was in there last time and I didn't see it.

I don't know how common, but right on the side of my bucket of reef crystals it says this:
Contains metal detoxifier to neutralize traces of heavy metals often present in domestic water supplies.

I don't know exactly what that is, and I only just noticed it yesterday. Not once have I ever read the container.

If you are really spooked, you could hit it with a hot water and vinegar bath followed by a good rinse. If you don't see any green rust spots you should be fine. I would be really careful about things like this. It seems odd to me that a penny would pop up. I had a woman living with me about 15+ years ago who threatened to plop pennies in my tank on her way out.

not an expert

Me neither, but we are right. Ro rinse would be fine. Anything else is just for giggles.

 

[Susanedw]

Thanks all. Will dump and take can outside to rinse with hose, then do a wipe down with ro water and dry. I usually don't waste the ro water on rinsing things like sponges etc. just wring and maybe rinse one time in ro water. sometimes not.

 

[Pat24601]

Thanks all. Will dump and take can outside to rinse with hose, then do a wipe down with ro water and dry. I usually don't waste the ro water on rinsing things like sponges etc. just wring and maybe rinse one time in ro water. sometimes not.

That should more than do it.

 

[Paul B]

The penny in 20 gallons of water will do nothing. Use the water as it is, bath in it or drink it but it won't hurt your corals. The penny dosage was something like five pennies in a gallon. There is much more copper in your plumbing or in your corals already for that to matter. If you dropped a dozen pennies in there 6 months ago, that may be different. Copper is a trace element in your ASW also. Look on the container. I think they dose it by putting a penny in 20 gallons of ASW for a couple of weeks.
As was said, not much copper in pennies anyway. But if it scares you, and I know it does, brush your teeth with it. Now if you dropped a fender in there from a 1957 Oldsmobile Cutlass I would say to dump it.
If you use it and your corals croak, it wasn't the penny so don't go blaming me or that penny.
Aren't you a nurse?

 

[Susanedw]

Thanks @Paul B . No nurse here...

 

[Paul B]

OK, you should have been a nurse. You look like a nurse, I don't know why. Of course you could be a nuclear phycisist or rocket scientist also

 

[Blue Space]

just gargle a cup of the mix water to see if you can taste the penny. You know what a penny tastes like from when you were a kid swallowing them to see how long it takes to... uh, moving right along...