Tank that had copper in it...

[coolchinchilla]

Cleaning a tank that had copper in it.....

Background: I have a 20 gallon long tank that I filled with black sandblasting sand and set up as a snail tank. All but one died despite excellent water parameters. I think I know what was wrong... the sandblasting sand probably leached copper into the tank which is deadly for inverts.

Cleaning: I rinsed and rinsed the tank. Then I filled it with water and put 1 cup bleach and 1 cup vinegar in it and let it soak overnight. I rinsed and rinsed the tank, filled it with dechlorinated water and let it soak again for 5 hours. Rinsed and rinsed again then set in the sunlight for a day.

Questions:
1. Can I clean this tank well enough to use for inverts again?

2. Is this tank permanently infused with copper?

3. Should I go over the seals with silicon to maybe "reduce" the copper exposed in the tank?

Thanks in advance!

 

[src]

Silicone is non-reactive, and should not have picked up any of the copper. I would do a another rinse cycle just to be sure, with a large dose of Prime or other dechorinator to neutralize any remaining chlorine from the bleach..

 

[joannde]

Prime should also detoxify any heavy metals.

Did you ever bring a sample of your water to the LFS so they could test for copper ?

 

[Lonewolfblue]

Prime should also detoxify any heavy metals.

Did you ever bring a sample of your water to the LFS so they could test for copper ?

Actually, no. I'm looking over my bottle of Prime here, and nowhere on the bottle does it say it either detoxifies or removes heavy metals. You'll need another dechlor to do that. Prime only removes Chlorine, Chloramine, and ammonia, and detoxifies nitrite and nitrate, as well as provides slime coat.

 

[joannde]

I hear ya - the bottle doesn't say it but the website does (isn't that annoying ??)
"Prime™ detoxifies nitrite and nitrate, allowing the biofilter to more efficiently remove them. It will also detoxify any heavy metals found in the tap water at typical concentration levels."
http://www.seachem.com/products/product_pages/Prime.html

So since we can't be sure which is right I'd say get another product for the heavy metals just in case.

 

[Guest]

Silicone is non-reactive, and should not have picked up any of the copper

Actually if enough copper is used, it will seep into the silicone and then seep out.

What kind of copper was used?

 

[hashbaz]

Is copper considered a "heavy" metal?

I would doubt that copper from the silicone would be a problem. If you are really concerned, wait a month and do lots of water changes. If any copper is still in there after a month, it will be leeching out so slowly it probably won't matter.

 

[JRagg]

"Prime™ detoxifies nitrite and nitrate, allowing the biofilter to more efficiently remove them. It will also detoxify any heavy metals found in the tap water at typical concentration levels."

I think the key words there are typical concentration levels.

Sandblasting sand could have contained quite a bit, which would have well exceeded what you find in your tap water.

 

[QTOFFER]

You could try filling a nylon bag with this:
http://www.seachem.com/products/product_pages/CupriSorb.html
and putting it in your filter.

 

[Purrbox]

If you want to be on the safe side I would avoid using the tank for inverts in the future. Unfortunately it doesn't take much copper to kill off inverts. Should you decide that you still want to give it a try, I would recommend testing with a small number of ghost shrimp which are fairly inexpensive. If they are fine after a few months then I would judge it safe to try other inverts.

 

[Bhunsucker]

Dumb Question here???? Why is copper so dangerous and what/why is it used?

 

[joannde]

Copper and other heavy metals are toxic to invertibrates (shrimp, snails, etc).
Copper is also a common ingredient in some medications - hence the warnings about using them with inverts.
In this particular case it is believed that copper was inadvertantly introduced when sandblasting sand was used as a substrate in the tank

 

[coolchinchilla]

Actually if enough copper is used, it will seep into the silicone and then seep out.

What kind of copper was used?

I had black sandblasting sand as a substrate which I think leached some copper. I have no idea if it was a lot of copper or very little and no idea what kind of copper. I'm not absolutely sure there even was copper in the sand either but my snails stopped dying when I got them out.

You could try filling a nylon bag with this:
http://www.seachem.com/products/product_pages/CupriSorb.html
and putting it in your filter.

Great suggestion! Thanks.

If you want to be on the safe side I would avoid using the tank for inverts in the future. Unfortunately it doesn't take much copper to kill off inverts. Should you decide that you still want to give it a try, I would recommend testing with a small number of ghost shrimp which are fairly inexpensive. If they are fine after a few months then I would judge it safe to try other inverts.

I'm hoping that I still can use the tank for inverts, but I'm not sure. I like the idea of giving it a try for a few months with some ghosties.

Wow! thanks everyone! 8) I appreciate all the ideas here. It helps a lot.

 

[SkullJug]

You might also want to test your tap water, In older houses copper can leach into the water from the pipes in small amounts. My house has copper piping and I always run my tap for a minute or two before water changes to clear the water that has been sitting in the pipes.