Copper Pipe in an Aquarium

[clippergear]

Well as the title says I have some cool ideas for structures in my new 5 gallon African Dwarf Frog and Plant tank that involve putting copper pipe into a freshwater aquarium. So a few questions:

• I'm assuming I cannot just put a copper pipe in the tank without any reprecussions.
• If I am wrong about the above statement, please let me know.
• Would it be safer for the frogs and the plants if I sealed the copper pipe in some sort of non-toxic sealant?

Any other information you could give me would be great.

Thanks for your time and consideration.......Stacy

 

[Anthonysafricans]

I would say use pvc piping much safer

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[JohnRoscoe]

Copper is the safer choice for humans in home drinking water systems, many people prefer it to the risk of chemical leaching from plastics.

I would assume that as it corrodes slowly in the tank, any leached byproducts would be so minimal as not matter, as long as you're doing regular water changes.

 

[Mebbid]

Copper is the safer choice for humans in home drinking water systems, many people prefer it to the risk of chemical leaching from plastics.

I would assume that as it corrodes slowly in the tank, any leached byproducts would be so minimal as not matter, as long as you're doing regular water changes.

Except that copper leeching into the water is toxic to fish and very very toxic to inverts at very low concentrations.

Copper in an aquarium is a no go. I would look at some other way to do it.

 

[pip walters]

Copper should be safe as long your pH does not become too acid, when there is a possibility of some leaching. However, in a freshwater tank, it shouldn't be a problem, unless, as said above, you have invertebrates.

At work, one of our systems runs through copper pipe. We have freshwater crabs and lobsters in there no problems and the odd stray shrimp seem to survive, but snails have perished.

We NEVER have a problem with white-spot in there! In fact, we recently imported some clown barbs that were covered in white-spot when they arrived. We put them in the 'copper system' (as we now call it) and it disappeared quickly and didn't return.

My uncle used to make copper fountains and water features and researched a lot before telling customers they were safe to go into garden ponds.

Perhaps QT tanks for freshwater fish should be piped with copper??

 

[Sk3lly]

Most peoples tap water they use for filling up a tank travels through copper pipe so it must have traces in anyway.

Now i dont know the effects on this as ive never seen anyone try.

Maybe give it a go in a hospital/q tank and observe any ill affects on a fish


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[pip walters]

Copper water piping quickly forms a protective coating that should prevent corrosion, which is one reason why chlorine is added.

As I understand it, soft acid water, with a pH lower than 6.5, can allow copper to be dissolved. Carbon dioxide causes acidity. Standing water that goes 'stagnant' would create acidic conditions, which could cause copper to dissolve somewhat. In oxygen rish environments, however, the dissolved copper precipitates and may not cause problems in freshwater.

 

[anteatergoanna]

That's interesting Pip, about the white spot, does it aid the fish in other ways, do you think?


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[Mebbid]

Sorry pip, but I decided to do a little digging into this and the copper does in fact leech into the water. As I mentioned earlier, adding copper to an aquarium for decoration isn't a good thing.

https://www.usc.edu/CSSF/History/2005/Projects/J0522.pdf
Excerpt from link:
Results
The results demonstrated that copper did leach out of the copper pipes and acidic water enhanced the rate
of leaching. Old copper pipes showed more contamination than the new pipes while brass pipes showed
moderate amounts of copper in the water.
Conclusions/Discussion
The amount of copper in drinking water does increase to a significant level (above the EPA standard of
0.3 ppm) upon standing in copper pipes overnight. The concentration of copper goes up with days and
hence water should be drained especially after no usage of the faucets for a long time (like vacations).
Such problems will be more prominent in houses with old copper pipes. Excess copper could cause
gastrointestinal disturbances, nausea and other physical disorders. People with Wilson's disease would be
especially susecptible.