Noooooppeeeeee :razz:. The universal solvent title comes from the polarity of the oxygen hydrogen bonds, because oxygen is MUCH more electronegative than hydrogen the bond is polar and has the ability to interact with both positive and negative charges in solution. Its this charge that universally dissociates ionic compounds, non-polar compounds such as fats are a different story though.

As for the pH & Copper its a very similar mechanism to what happens in our body for gas exchange. Purely a concentration gradient, as the RO water has been stripped of any dissolved ions (Mg, Fe, Ca, ect....) it naturally wants to regain these and does so by stripping the Cu2+ ions from the fitting.

Really sorry to hear about our loss, I'm on board with water changes and a polyfilter. Your rock might be toast, I would keep the tank invert-less for an extended period of time while you monitor your Copper levels.

Hey, Im only a plumber, stop using those big words..........
Ok my mistake, what Levi said...sounds better anyway.

If it's an consolation after I'm done my bach. will probably get a job examining stool samples :neutral:. Life rocks WOOT!

Sounds like a $h!tty job... :lol:

Sorry, had to.

Oh- I Should have paid more attention in chem class apparently

The acid idea sounds like a great way to save the rock. The tank silicone may still have some Cu in it but it could be pulled out with some absorber maybe.

So.... Acid bath for the rocks sounds like a cheap $$ idea. Just ensure to think everything through twice. Don't end up with a ruined floor or sidewalk! Or even a burned hand!

Then down the road you could try a test with an invert or two in the tank?

P.S. Really sorry to hear about this! I wouldn't even know where to begin if my tank crashed :(

This Synthetic Rubber Coating could have been used
to prevent from contamination.
http://www.plastidip.com/home_solutions/Plasti_Dip

i dont know if below statment is true though, because i've never used this staff but looks promising.
.
Plasti Dip is a multi-purpose, air dry, specialty rubber coating. It can be easily applied by dipping, brushing, or spraying. Plasti Dip protective coating is ideal for a broad array of do-it-yourself projects around the home, garage, garden, and elsewhere. It protects coated items against moisture, acids, abrasion, corrosion, and skidding/slipping, and provides a comfortable, controlled grip. Plasti Dip remains flexible and stretchy over time, and will not crack or become brittle in extreme weather conditions. It has been tested and proven in temperatures from -30°F
.

Cleaning the rock with acid will save the physical rock, but it certainly won't be 'live' anymore. So assuming we're talking 50 pounds of rock (most live rock sells for around $10 a pound), you'll essentially be turning it in to something dead, like Marco rock, which sells for about $3 a pound and will need to be completely cycled again. So really, your best case scenario is that you've lost about $350 in value, and you should consider whether the multi-month (to multi-year, depending on whose rock opinion you're listening to) process of getting your rock back to where it was before the copper incident isn't worth simply replacing it with good quality, new live rock.

that's what I would do. Cleaning was just an option, but yes, it's officially dead as dead gets after an acid bath. Subject to releasing PO4 down the road as well, once all the dead stuff in the pores start rotting.

Cleaning is still on the table but most likely the rock will be replaced.

Stupid question, I know, but could the rock still be used in a FOWLR systems, with the knowledge that it is contaminated with copper, so no shrimp or clean up crew?

Is the liverock really garbage now? because in my system I had enough free copper to kill half of my corals and the rest was in shock for a while but I had my water tested after a month and no more trace of copper. From my experience the copper will not be absorbed so much into the liverock and will eventually bind to organic matter and be neutralized or at least turned into a non toxic form and removed by the skimmer and syphoning of the sand.

I did not change my liverock after the copper poisoning and everything is thriving again in my tank. Copper is at very low level so normal level for saltwater, so my liverock is not leaching any copper or at least not something that can do any level of dammage, and I have a very porous Totoka liverock.

I would test for copper before throwing out good live liverock. I am guessing that with Cuprisorb and a few good water change, the liverock is going to be perfectly fine.

Not stupid at all. Yes, the rock could be used in a FOWLR system. The danger comes down the road when the person shuts down and tries to sell the rock. This is always a risk buying used rock...

Unless it has healthy coral on it...that alone is a clue that the liverock should be healthy as well.

Even if you buy at LFS, it is still not safe. Everybody can sell their rocks to LFS to get a credit and we have no clue what the condition of the rocks are anyways. Unless you get the rocks when they arrive at the store and you see them unwrapping them in front of you. That was how I got my rocks at the beginning. I don't trust somebody else's rocks if I don't know that person well.

Ok so in the summer I do a lot of prospecting. If we come across gypsum, calcite or any other calcium type rock and want to see what minerals they are holding, we will soak them in Muriatic. Often whats left over is just a sludge that we pan out to check for mineral content. I know this sounds off in left field, but the point is, I'm not sure what shape your rock will be in if left over night, you may end up with a lot less than you started with, and it will defiantly be dead. And what will you do with the acid when you are done? It would take quite a bit to soak a 135g tank worth. Myself, I think I would go with the Marco rock, with a bit of new live rock for seeding.

How is the Marco rock I was thinking of using some

lol, yes, like I said, soak for about 10 minutes to just dissolve the surface of the rock. Overnight would be messy.

Disposing of the acid is easy once you've added a box of baking soda to the mix. Just pour it down the drain.

its dense and heavy and will probably never be as good as live rock even after it eventually becomes live.....

So after worrying I finally got to the store to buy a copper test kit after I had also used a brass fitting in my ato system and had been fully submersed for over 5 ish months. Pulled the fitting when this thread was first posted and there was definite signs of wear and fading of the original coloration and as a result of this I was scared.
Anywho I tested my RO ato system and it came up 0 as well my tank showed the same readings. Phew I think I may have dodged a bullet here.
I'm off to the store now to buy a coral in celebration lol.

Glad to hear that you seem to be ok however keep a close eye on everything because most test kits that are available to us don't provide readings low enough to detect copper in small amounts and it does not take very much to be toxic for inverts and coral

YOu have a good point and the only way to be 100% sure is to put a cup of carbon runing in loop wit a small filter to make sure the water is really going through it, in a bucket with like a gallon or half a gallon of water for a day, then analyse that water. in my own test it reached .358 ppm which is 3 times the dosage to kill ich. with this test you can be 100% sur that if there is copper in the carbon the common test is going to tedect it easily.

If that come out negative, it was not copper in the carbon. If it does contain copper in large quantité like mine, then you have the culprit right there and a sample should be sent by mail to the company.

I do agree. However the fact that I am reading 0 on multiple tests and I still have all my coral and inverts doing perfectly fine I think I will be ok. I am still going to be removing the fitting of course I'm just not going to have to cry myself to sleep thinking about a full tank overhaul.
It was just a standard seachem test kit but I do not have the resources to bring my water to a lab.

Edit. The seachem test kit actually test to 0.01mg/l. And seawater is .003 so yes I could have some undetected but I cannot test to the quantities that could be present.

Sorry to hear about the crash and cause! Thanks though for posting and making us all aware of the potential disaster!
I just did a search for ANY copper fittings anywhere near yhe R/O in use.