Hi All-- I have a 29 octagon and a 55L that used to be fish only. They have both had coppersafe in them. It has been at least 10 years since they have had water in them. Any chance that they would be safe to use for corals, zoas, polys? Thanks in advance !!
Coppersafe from an old setup
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redfishbluefish
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Copper does not "stick" to glass or silicone. Give them a soaking/washing with vinegar and a good rinsing and you're good to go. Now if you had rock or sand in there when treating with copper, would not use that again.
JMSKI333
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Plus one. I would feel confident after a wash with vinegar.
Copper can get into the glass pores. It can be pulled out of there by running carbon in the tank for awhile.
Giving an example here of Copper in a QT.
Here are Leebca's notes on the subject of cleaning a QT after using copper
QT/Hospital Tank Clean Up With Copper
About the most frequently used medication that presents a cleaning problem to the aquarist is the use of copper to treat a disease. Copper will attach itself to plastics and glass. Even though the copper is so little that it can't be detected by a regular copper test kit, it is in high enough concentration to kill invertebrates that the aquarist may attempt to quarantine. Thus a quarantine tank turns into a hospital tank for copper treatments. The hospital tank can't be used for a QT for invertebrates, until it has been cleaned enough to remove the copper 'stuck' in the system.
If the copper treatment was successful and the fish is disease-free AND the tank will only be used to quarantine fish, then like the first case, there is no need to do any cleaning. The bio filter should be kept in the hospital tank or replaced, but NOT returned to the display tank.
If the hospital tank needs to be copper-free then there is a complex cleaning process to follow. However after experiments with snails, crabs, and Xenia, the following cleaning is good enough to put the copper in low enough concentration in the water to support these marine lifeforms. The bio filter must be thrown away. Toss away equipment including tubing, and anything that can't handle the cleaning process or is too difficult to make sure is properly cleaned.
1. A few hot tap water rinses (as hot as can be stood by the tank/equipment, and aquarist!)
2. Let tank/equipment cool off
3. Wash with Vinegar; 1:10 dilution of household/salad vinegar
4. Several tap water rinses
5. Wash with a mild liquid soap solution
6. Several tap water rinses
7. Wash with bleach; 1:10 dilution of household bleach
8. Several tap water rinses
9. Several RO/DI or distilled water rinses
10. Let go bone dry for a few days before use
Anyone can Google to find out who Lee Birch is (aka Leebca). But he is renowned fish expert.
Giving an example here of Copper in a QT.
Here are Leebca's notes on the subject of cleaning a QT after using copper
QT/Hospital Tank Clean Up With Copper
About the most frequently used medication that presents a cleaning problem to the aquarist is the use of copper to treat a disease. Copper will attach itself to plastics and glass. Even though the copper is so little that it can't be detected by a regular copper test kit, it is in high enough concentration to kill invertebrates that the aquarist may attempt to quarantine. Thus a quarantine tank turns into a hospital tank for copper treatments. The hospital tank can't be used for a QT for invertebrates, until it has been cleaned enough to remove the copper 'stuck' in the system.
If the copper treatment was successful and the fish is disease-free AND the tank will only be used to quarantine fish, then like the first case, there is no need to do any cleaning. The bio filter should be kept in the hospital tank or replaced, but NOT returned to the display tank.
If the hospital tank needs to be copper-free then there is a complex cleaning process to follow. However after experiments with snails, crabs, and Xenia, the following cleaning is good enough to put the copper in low enough concentration in the water to support these marine lifeforms. The bio filter must be thrown away. Toss away equipment including tubing, and anything that can't handle the cleaning process or is too difficult to make sure is properly cleaned.
1. A few hot tap water rinses (as hot as can be stood by the tank/equipment, and aquarist!)
2. Let tank/equipment cool off
3. Wash with Vinegar; 1:10 dilution of household/salad vinegar
4. Several tap water rinses
5. Wash with a mild liquid soap solution
6. Several tap water rinses
7. Wash with bleach; 1:10 dilution of household bleach
8. Several tap water rinses
9. Several RO/DI or distilled water rinses
10. Let go bone dry for a few days before use
Anyone can Google to find out who Lee Birch is (aka Leebca). But he is renowned fish expert.
mcarroll
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My experience is that the danger here for glass/silicone (maybe even rock) is way overstated...maybe even purely hypothetical. A few points...
Copper is a significant trace element of seawater. Copper is not, by definition, toxic to ANY sea creature.
If you've ever dosed copper, you know it degrades to an ineffective form quickly. This is why you have to test and dose copper daily to maintain a toxic concentration.
This is just an anecdote, but I know of a gorilla crab that lived through sever copper treatments of a fish only system. The treatments were all supervised daily and a toxic concentration was maintained by monitoring with a Hach photometer. FWIW.
I don't see how the silicone and glass of a tank could possibly maintain toxic levels of copper in an active tank. Just doesn't add up. I think we probably add more copper by way of fish food than this could supply, if even possible.
$0.02
-Matt
Copper is a significant trace element of seawater. Copper is not, by definition, toxic to ANY sea creature.
If you've ever dosed copper, you know it degrades to an ineffective form quickly. This is why you have to test and dose copper daily to maintain a toxic concentration.
This is just an anecdote, but I know of a gorilla crab that lived through sever copper treatments of a fish only system. The treatments were all supervised daily and a toxic concentration was maintained by monitoring with a Hach photometer. FWIW.
I don't see how the silicone and glass of a tank could possibly maintain toxic levels of copper in an active tank. Just doesn't add up. I think we probably add more copper by way of fish food than this could supply, if even possible.
$0.02
-Matt
Paul B
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My tank had copper in it for the first ten years, the same rocks, gravel and probably some of the water is still in there 35 years later. The corals don't seem to mind and I don't think they even know or care.
VicD81
Well-Known Member
OMG!!! I have a 10G that I used as a HT a year ago. Medicated a pair of Discus with one of those Seachem and Metro+. Not even sure if it contained copper.
I was just going to give it a bleach bath followed by a good rinse but with all this conflicting info its:frusty:
I just figured it needed a good bath to get rid of any residual meds. Its glass one of the most nonporous materials!
I was just going to give it a bleach bath followed by a good rinse but with all this conflicting info its:frusty:
I just figured it needed a good bath to get rid of any residual meds. Its glass one of the most nonporous materials!
rworegon
Active Member
Wow, after 10 years dry I would probably reseal them. That would require cleaning the glass with some denatured alcohol. I wouldn't worry about it too much.
vlangel
Seahorse whisperer
Yes, the rock and sand that are in my tank also had coppersafe used on them when they were in a FOWLR system but don't seem to be having any ill effect now on my corals, inverts or clam.
