Copper in reef tanks

[Aquamaniak]

Hi all,

My triton test revealed a high copper level in my reef tank (44ug/l) . I have no idea about the source of the copper, my refugium light was a bit rusty but I don't think it's made of copper.

I was wondering about the impact of copper on a reef tank. There are a lot of products advertising the removal of copper, I ordered some cuprisorb hoping it will have a positive effect.
Are there other people who measured high copper (more than 10ug/l) and noticed a positive effect after using these products? I can't really find many experiences on this subject.

Thanks in advance!

 

[hijinks7]

Did you buy anything second hand? Tank/rock/sand/etc ?

Anything you buy second hand can leach copper and its toxic to inverts so they will all die if there's any copper in the system really.

I believe rust can leach copper into the tank also depending on the metal of the light.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Years ago, I measured my tank to have 13-15 ug/L copper and did not see a problem. But at some point it obviously becomes a problem and a concentration alone cannot really say what that problem level is (even if the data was available) because copper will be bound to organic matter, and exactly what it is bound to impacts its bioavailability/toxicity.

The cuprisorb is a good choice and likely will bring it down unless the source keeps adding copper back as fast as you remove it (unlikely).

Do you use tap water?

 

[Aquamaniak]

Did you buy anything second hand? Tank/rock/sand/etc ?

Anything you buy second hand can leach copper and its toxic to inverts so they will all die if there's any copper in the system really.

I believe rust can leach copper into the tank also depending on the metal of the light.

I bought my live rock in a shop, so I assume it was not second hand. I also got a few cured rocks but don't have any evidence copper is leaching from it.
I was using this kind of light for my refugium.

Years ago, I measured my tank to have 13-15 ug/L copper and did not see a problem. But at some point it obviously becomes a problem and a concentration alone cannot really say what that problem level is (even if the data was available) because copper will be bound to organic matter, and exactly what it is bound to impacts its bioavailability/toxicity.

The cuprisorb is a good choice and likely will bring it down unless the source keeps adding copper back as fast as you remove it (unlikely).

Do you use tap water?

I only use RO water, and as far as I know TDS has always been at zero. We do have copper plumbing though.
I've always had problems keeping snails, I only have a large Trochus/Astrea left which is known for being tougher. I do have quite a lot of pods and several columbellid snails though.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

If you have an RO/DI and the TDS is near zero, I doubt the water is the source of problematic copper.

 

[hijinks7]

Lots of LFS buy back broken down tanks so the LR there is generally second hand.

If that is some generic light the rust could be the cause if something fell into the tank. Its really tough with copper.