F*&% Up of epic proportion!!!

[The Codfather]

Originally Posted by rynoe

Ya i use ro/di system for filtering and that seems to be what really makes a copper fitting worse.

Yep, because of the pH of the RO, it will pit very quickly.
We run into this problem quite often in the trade.

[rynoe]

It doesn't take very much time to reach toxic levels so a big part of this topic prevention for others. A small simple fitting that most would never think twice about can wipe out an entire system at a very rapid rate. I will try and get a pic of what the fitting looks like up later on.

[daniella3d]

That's sad. I had copper poisoning from Kent carbon and a lot of my corals died. After many water changes I had my water tested by a pro lab and it was free of copper so I guess my liverock did not absorb too much. My corals did absorb some copper because many of my remaining SPS are now fragile and bristle and they break at the slightest touch.

I used Polyfilter to help remove the copper with water changes. I would also use cuprisorb if I were you. Everything that is still alive in my tank is slowly recovering. It really does not take a large amount of free copper to kill corals.

[tim the toolman]

I have a brass fitting on my ato as well. I'm heading home to get it the hell out of my water. Thanks for the post.

[e46er]

Isn't RODI water totally pure? As in absolutely nothing in it? Meaning PH would be 7.0 ? Which is totally neutral ?
I have a hard time seeing 1 fitting leaching so much copper

[Aquattro]

Originally Posted by e46er

Isn't RODI water totally pure? As in absolutely nothing in it? Meaning PH would be 7.0 ? Which is totally neutral ?
I have a hard time seeing 1 fitting leaching so much copper

Totally neutral will increase it's ability to absorb ions. So yes, RO will pull Cu out quickly

[subman]

Originally Posted by Aquattro

Totally neutral will increase it's ability to absorb ions. So yes, RO will pull Cu out quickly

+1 except ro/di water will pull more ions out not just ro water (I'm sure that is what you meant)

That is one of the downsides of di water it will quickly absorb any ions good or bad.

[e46er]

Originally Posted by Aquattro

Totally neutral will increase it's ability to absorb ions. So yes, RO will pull Cu out quickly

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

[The Codfather]

Originally Posted by e46er

Isn't RODI water totally pure? As in absolutely nothing in it? Meaning PH would be 7.0 ? Which is totally neutral ?
I have a hard time seeing 1 fitting leaching so much copper

No the pH of pure water is slightly acidic, hence why its called the universal solvent.

[Aquattro]

Originally Posted by The Codfather

No the pH of pure water is slightly acidic, hence why its called the universal solvent.

pH of pure water is exactly 7.0, and neutral. The problem is that pure water is not usually pure. Exposure to air can form carbonic acid, making it slightly acidic.