Electricity & Copper in a Reef

[Subsea]

In swimming pool maintenance, electrical devices are used to transfer copper into water treated. However, I got a double dose of contamination into 5yr mature mixed garden, when power cord pulled out of epoxied MaxiJet powerhead which supplied reverse flow into plenum under 2” aragonite substrate. This happened while away for 2 weeks. No fish were lost, but every urchin and 100% of rock anemones & BTA are gone. I added an extra air pump and much utilitarian Caulerpa Prolifera was brought in to absorb organics & heavy metals, performed two 50G water changes and running activated carbon thru additional Aquaclear 110 HOB. I am also circulating water between 5yr mature 120G display and 25yr mature 75G display

Build Thread - Wet & Salty for Christmas 2017.

Seven month old 120G tank with reverse flow undergravel filter on top with 40G cryptic refugium on bottom.

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Build Thread - 25 year old 75G Jaubert Plenum on top with 30G EcoSystem Mud/Macro

The tank has seen little change in 25 years. Jaubert Plenum was designed to use facultative bacteria in a low oxygen environment to perform denitrification biochemistry. Substrate was 6” deep with false bottom making a Plenum under substrate. Plenum performed well until the introduction of...

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[homer1475]

I would run some cuprisorb.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Yes, electricity flowing out of a copper wire will release copper massively faster than the same copper wire just sitting there.

when electrons are flowing out of the wire, this reaction can take place to release them into the water:

Cu —> Cu++ + 2e-

electrolysis of seawater can also produce chlorine from chloride when electrons are flowing out of the wire:

2Cl- —> Cl2 + 2e-

 

[Subsea]

I would run some cuprisorb.

As of yet, I have not measured for cooper. Indirectly, I found out just how efficient macro algae absorbs copper & zinc when I grew Gracilaria Parvispora as an ediable seaweed for sale to Asian restaurants. When I sent seaweed off for dry analysis, I was shocked to see 7ppm of Copper when none was detected in makeup water (detection limit was .01 ppm).