Copper In My Tank

[Siamese Fighter05]

Hi everyone

I'm going to convert my 18US gallon to a nano-reef and just realised that i used to fill it with my tap water when i kept FW fish in there, the problem with this is my house water pipes are copper!
The tank has been empty about 2weeks now and i was hoping it would be fine to use for my corals and fish.
Please dont say no!

Thanks
Dan

 

[steelhealr]

Unless you want to be safe and buy a new tank..this might be the time to invest in a copper test kit and test it. Copper, even in small amounts, is DEADLY to most marine life. SH

 

[Aquascaper]

Copper can also be retained in the silicone seals of the tank so although a good scrubbing and washing will prepare a tank, copper can leach back into the tank over time.

If possible I would get a new tank, or a secondhand reef tank.

 

[Siamese Fighter05]

Thanks alot for your replys guys, i'm picking up a new tank soon...

 

[Aquascaper]

A very good place for cheap secondhand tanks is the local Freeads, just remember to find out what it was used for beforehand. If it was a reef tank....excellent

 

[Siamese Fighter05]

PetsAtHome sells a 24"x15"x12" for £21.50 so i guess it's just a pop down there as soon as i sell this tank off. I would look on the bargain pages but i might as well get a new tank and be guarenteed saftey.
One last question. The heater i have bought has been used in the tank also...does that mean i need a new one also?

Thanks Dan

 

[Chac]

IMO the heater would be fine to use in the new tank (just make sure it is of suitable rating)

 

[Sean_Buckley]

Aren't most peoples house pipes copper? Would there really be that much copper in the water from water coming from the copper pipes. I mean, we keep snails and shrimp in our FW tanks without R/O water. Or are the FW inverts less sensitive than the SW?
Sean

 

[Siamese Fighter05]

IMO the heater would be fine to use in the new tank (just make sure it is of suitable rating)

Thanks for your advice Chac, Glad i can actually save on something!

Aren't most peoples house pipes copper? Would there really be that much copper in the water from water coming from the copper pipes. I mean, we keep snails and shrimp in our FW tanks without R/O water. Or are the FW inverts less sensitive than the SW?
Sean

Good questions, wouldn't mine knowing the answer to that myself...

 

[Navarre]

My house has copper pipes. Although i use RO water now, before i used this i used to reguarly top up with tap water with no ill effects on the system at al. All the reefers i know have copper pipes somewhere in their plumbing and its never caused a problem.
Adding a copper treatment is a whole different ballgame, this is concentrated and will easily be absorbed into the tanks silicone (my Quarentine tank shows signs of this from 1 single application of copper treatment).

As long as you have never treated the tank with any copper solution etc then it should not be an issue.

 

[Siamese Fighter05]

Thanks for your reply Navarre

Back in my total newbie days ) I must've dumped every kind of medicatioin reccomended to me so i guess it's to risky using the tank. I'm picking up the new one tommorow but thanks for your help. Glad to know my own water should be okay with the ro unit.

Dan