Copper and acrylic

[CanadianReefer]

Hello everyone,

I tore down a wall of QT tanks a while back and opted to replace them with much larger alternatives. I now have lots of spare tanks and equipment, so I'm trying to decide if I can make use of any of it.

I understand that copper will kill inverts and corals and that it is easily absorbed by porous surfaces such as live rock; however, how easily would it be absorbed by acrylic?

The reason I ask is this: one of these tanks is a great size for a nano tank. I have a cute pair of clowns I would like to rehome and some leftover lights that are strong enough for softies, LPS and some lower demand SPS. At one time or another, though, this tank has had copper in it (given it's former status as a QT). The copper would have been stripped out of the water column with cuprasorb and the tank has since been thoroughly cleaned/bleached and left to dry for months.

What are the chances that the aquarium walls would have absorbed any of the metal?? I wouldn't reuse any other equipment that has seen copper, so would I be taking a huge risk??

 

[75galOCD]

Hi
One way to find out if the copper permeated the materials would be to put salt water in and test periodically?

 

[CanadianReefer]

Hi
One way to find out if the copper permeated the materials would be to put salt water in and test periodically?

Any idea on how long it would take to start seeing leeching? Before tearing down the tank, the water that was in it tested at 0... but I assume it may take a while to notice...

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

Any idea on how long it would take to start seeing leeching? Before tearing down the tank, the water that was in it tested at 0... but I assume it may take a while to notice...

If you mean a copper test kit, that's not useful for testing suitability. Can't test low enough.

But copper will not adhere to acrylic particularly strongly. It will adhere to calcium carbonate deposits and organic matter, so those need to be removed.

Then I'd just do a careful scrubbing, perhaps with full strength vinegar.

 

[75galOCD]

I did mean copper test. I assumed it had the range.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

I did mean copper test. I assumed it had the range.

Unfortunately, they are designed for medicating fish, not ensuring levels are low enough for sensitive inverts.

 

[CanadianReefer]

Hmm. Okay, sounds like it's worth trying. I simply wasn't sure how porous acrylic is so I didn't know if the copper would bond easily or not. I'll give the tank another good rince, with vinegar this time, and I'll start with a few inexpensive/hardy corals to see what happens. My clowns love leather corals, so perhaps I'll frag a few of those and some mushrooms from one of my other tanks.

Randy, how long do you figure it would take for me to start seeing problems, if there are going to be any ??

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

Hmm. Okay, sounds like it's worth trying. I simply wasn't sure how porous acrylic is so I didn't know if the copper would bond easily or not. I'll give the tank another good rince, with vinegar this time, and I'll start with a few inexpensive/hardy corals to see what happens. My clowns love leather corals, so perhaps I'll frag a few of those and some mushrooms from one of my other tanks.

Randy, how long do you figure it would take for me to start seeing problems, if there are going to be any ??

Acrylic isn't porous at all.

If you don't see a problem within 2 weeks, I suspect you won't.

 

[CanadianReefer]

Awesome thx for the help !

 

[rockstarta78]

I would bleach the H3LL out of the tank. Scrub gently to avoid scratching. Let it dry out for few days. Fill the tank with Saltwater, let it cycle. drain out all water (since I am paranoid). let it dry out, refill with Saltwater and put some snails in there. If there's still copper (doubtful) the snails would die. That would be your indicator if you can re purpose this or do more bleach.

 

[CanadianReefer]

Well, it's up and running. So far, so good. I used materials and rock from my DT sump, so it was instantly cycled. I added some crabs and snails. Everything seems fine. Will keep you posted.

In the meantime, I need to decide what I'm going to put in it. I have a large mixed reef already, and what I call the reject reef (all the animals that couldn' hack in it my DT, i.e., a lemon peel angel who ate all my LPS) and it is a softy-only tank since its the only thing thr fish dont bother with... it's neat in that I can put all the nuisance corals that would never enter my DT and it looks like a toxic meltdown underneath the blue light!!

I was thinking of trying my hand at an SPS dominant tank?? Maybe a pair of designer clowns, a CuC, and a bunch of high demand acros. What do you think?? Any suggestions? I'm curious in that it would be much easier to have an ultra low nutrient tank with only a couple fish, so maybe I could really promote some nice colour/growth?? I habe a zeovit reactor that is collecting dust. Anyone try this on a nano tank??