Copper

[Cougra]

Everyone knows the standard warnings about using copper in a saltwater aquarium in so far that it should never be used with live rock, filter bacteria, inverts, or corals, it should never be used in main display tanks and that any tank that has ever had a copper treatment should never be used for setting up reef tanks. Copper can be absorbed into the rocks, substrate, and silicone in the tank and leach back out over time.

Now my question is this:
Realisticly, how long can this copper actually stay in the aquarium making it unsafe for the inhabitants? During treatment there was a finite amount of copper added and only a fraction of that amount would have been absorbed into the tank decor/silicone so only a finite amount will be able to leach back into the tank before there isn't any more copper left.

If copper leaches out into the water over time then there will come a time when it should be safe to use that tank again for a reef aquaria. If it takes years for it to leach out then couldn't the trace amounts that are in the water be removed through chemical filtration such as Polyfilters or resins like CupriSorb before it raises to levels that will harm reef inhabitants?

What are your thoughts or findings on this issue? Is there any actual proof out there that support the arguement that a tank can never be used again after copper is added or is there only ancidotal evidence that is passed back and forth between hobbyists with the better safe then sorry approach?

Just to make things clear, I will never advocate using copper or any other medications in the main display tank or with inverts and senstive animals.

[Witfull]

copper is a dual edged sword, it kills parasites better than anything, but it is adsorbed quickly into just about everything, including living tissue.

as for reusing a tank, yes it is possible. copper that is adsorbed into the glass and silicone isnt acted upon by biological and chemical breakdown. so basically it is locked in. and any that is slowly released will be of extremely low concentration.

rocks, gravel, and other items that are effected by erosion, either biologic or chemical will release copper is higher levels. sand beds as they are stirred, they grind against each grain releasing smaller particles. sand and rock also is affected by pH and bacteria. pH is lower in a sandbed and within rock, as we know, so as it erodes the good and bad are released.. bacteria uses ensymes to breakdown waste, and the sand and rock is broken down in the prossess, releasing the copper, and bacteria tugor pushes it into the water columb.

also concerning sandbeds, sand is ingested by many creatures. as they do copper becomes bound within their matrix. over time levels within their bodies will rise finally leading to toxic levels. for example, bacteria breaks down the sand and copper gets into the diterus, pods feed on this, before it get to a toxic level for them they are eaten by fish. the fish adsorb the copper internally. the copper is drawn to the liver and kidneys as the body tries to filter it out. in time this will lead to organ failure and death.

another problem is copper kills everything including bacteria, so it will effect the biobed of a tank as it is released.

because of these issues, it has become a "rule" to not reuse copper treated items. the risks out-weigh any benefit.

these are my thoughts on this.

[BoomerD]

I wouldn't hesitate to re-use a tank that had been coppered, but I WOULD scrub it out very well, and even let it soak in RO/DI water to help remove any traces. As Wit says, what little MAY penetrate into the tank, (would be very minimal IMO) should pose little to no problems. As for any porus material, rock, sand etc, I would NOT try to re-use that in a reef. Better to use that in a FOWLR where whatever leached out wouldn't be much of an issue.

[cheeks69]

Michelle there was a discussion at another site about this subject and a member there said he used polyfilters to successfully remove the copper.

Reefdream

ok we did this very thing in a fully stocked reef tank. we bought some live rock and found out it had been run in a copper treated tank for years . I mean it had copper in it every single day for years and was maintained at levels to kill parasites for the enitre time. we tried the seachem for a while but didn't work near as well as poly filters. the poly will turn blue when it is absorbing copper and different colors if there is something else like ammonia or whatever else it absorbs. our tanks were fully stocked with shrimp fish acro,s , you name it. we did experience some lightening of acro's but no death. we started running the filters and it kept the copper levels low enough for everything to get back to normal health. I can go a year now without a poly filter and put one in for the heck of it and no trace of blue anymore. I am not a real believer that it will continue to release copper forever . at least not enough to hurt anything. all saltwater has copper including the ocean it is a naturally occuring substance. it is only etreme levels that hurt or kill. no way would I suggest getting a new tank because of 5 weeks of use.

Copper Treated Tanks Question

[Witfull]

we did experience some lightening of acro's but no death

near disaster.

at least not enough to hurt anything. all saltwater has copper including the ocean it is a naturally occuring substance

yes it is,,,at 3 parts per Billion!