Question about copper

[Marco Qualizza]

Hello everybody!! :-)

Been gone for a bit, busy busy life. And now I have a question about
copper. I have a 33 gallon FW which I've owned for approx 10 years. I
know that, without question, I haven't dosed with anything that contains
copper for the last 5 years, but I'm not sure about anything before that.

How safe would it be to put inverts in that tank? I suspect that it
should be ok -- when the cichlids don't get to them, the snails thrive,
but I'm not sure how significant that is (ie/ I'm not sure how well FW
snails tolerate copper compared to SW inverts).

Any ideas or suggestions?


TIA,
Marco

[Pszemol]

"Marco Qualizza" > wrote in message ...
> Been gone for a bit, busy busy life. And now I have a question about
> copper. I have a 33 gallon FW which I've owned for approx 10 years. I
> know that, without question, I haven't dosed with anything that contains
> copper for the last 5 years, but I'm not sure about anything before that.
>
> How safe would it be to put inverts in that tank? I suspect that it
> should be ok -- when the cichlids don't get to them, the snails thrive,
> but I'm not sure how significant that is (ie/ I'm not sure how well FW
> snails tolerate copper compared to SW inverts).

Are you converting it to reef tank? If so, copper does not accumulate
on glass - you should be safe no matter wat after you redo the tank...
If your question is about freshwater inverts - hm... I do not know, but...
after 5 years of regular water changes - even if it was something
before it should be gone by now completely...

[Marco Qualizza]

On Tue, 06 Apr 2004 11:27:33 -0500, Pszemol wrote:

>> How safe would it be to put inverts in that tank? I suspect that it
>> should be ok -- when the cichlids don't get to them, the snails thrive,
>> but I'm not sure how significant that is (ie/ I'm not sure how well FW
>> snails tolerate copper compared to SW inverts).
>
> Are you converting it to reef tank? If so, copper does not accumulate on
> glass - you should be safe no matter wat after you redo the tank... If
> your question is about freshwater inverts - hm... I do not know, but...
> after 5 years of regular water changes - even if it was something before
> it should be gone by now completely...

Thanks, Pszemol. :-)

I should have been more specific, I will be converting it to a reef (or to
something reef-related, ie/ sump + fuge) at some point in the future. I'm
glad to hear copper won't accumulate on the glass. Any risk posed by the
silicon sealant?

[Pszemol]

"Marco Qualizza" > wrote in message ...
> I should have been more specific, I will be converting it to a reef (or to
> something reef-related, ie/ sump + fuge) at some point in the future. I'm
> glad to hear copper won't accumulate on the glass. Any risk posed by the
> silicon sealant?

Does it have any color residue from using medicines?
If not, it would be safe... Anyway - you can use some
glass shrimps now as an copper indicator - they are sold
as feeders for larger fish and they are sensitive to copper.
You can also use copper test used together with copper
medicines in fish only tanks against parasites...

[Marco Qualizza]

On Wed, 07 Apr 2004 08:52:06 -0500, Pszemol wrote:

> Does it have any color residue from using medicines? If not, it would be
> safe... Anyway - you can use some glass shrimps now as an copper indicator
> - they are sold as feeders for larger fish and they are sensitive to
> copper. You can also use copper test used together with copper medicines
> in fish only tanks against parasites...

No, no discoloration. And thank you. :-)

[Wayne Sallee]

You will want to start with fresh gravel, preferably sand.

For the tank, it probably doesn't have any residue of coper, as others have
said, but for anyone wanting to make sure that a tank has no such residue, a
simple cleaning of muratic acid (pool department) can be uesd (out doors) to
clean the tank out.

Wayne Sallee
http://members.aol.com/waynesallee/weblink.htm