Thread: copper question
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Old 07-23-2009, 01:02 PM
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michika michika is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by midgetwaiter View Post
I am sure it is not proven. Everybody has heard it's an issue but nobody has seen it be an issue. I've seen it NOT cause problems when I used a 20 that had been repeatedly dosed with copper as a sump for YEARS afterward. All I did was rinse it.

The best way to attack something like copper chemically is to precipitate it. Use kalk or sodium carbonate to get the pH to 12 and any free copper should precipitate as copper hydroxide. If you use kalk be aware you could be adding as much copper as you are potentially removing depending on it's purity. I am not sure about sodium carbonate in that regard.
Yes I have had it be an issue. I had a frag/qt tank at one point that I just set up and used after a vinegar cleaning. All the frags died in it for a period of 6 months before I took it down and replaced the silicone. Problem fixed itself. I also did get confirmation after going back to the original owner, that copper, not cuperamine, had been used in the tank.
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