F*&% Up of epic proportion!!!

[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.

[Nano]

sorry to hear of your crash! I recently had a minor one, due to kent carbon, unfortunately lost some livestock, and nearly killed off the live rock, my pod count was very low almost non existent. but After feeding the tank pods, and phytos (etc) its coming back hope everything turns out ok in the long run for you. its such a PITA when this happens

[bling_bling466]

One guy at the LFS around here told me that the silicon would even absorb copper. Just like live rock and release it slowly back into the tank. I dojlno if it's true or not hope it helps.

[rynoe]

The fitting ended up in the system in january and everything was fine for a while and then suddenly evrything went. So timeline was around 3 months.

[msjboy]

don't forget to rid of the rocks for good... its no good for anyone in the future especially if it recirculates to us reefers unknowingly.

msjboy

[rynoe]

Ya and depending what you read it basically looks like the whole sytem is garbage not just the rocks.

[Aquattro]

Originally Posted by rynoe

Ya and depending what you read it basically looks like the whole sytem is garbage not just the rocks.

The tank can be resealed and washed with acid to remove copper. Theoretically the rock could also be bathed in acid and stripped of copper, but it's a lot of work. Any equipment can also be cleaned. Crappy situation all around...

[troni]

sorry to hear that and thanks for the learning experience! good luck with future endevours

[Zoaelite]

Originally Posted by The Codfather

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

Noooooppeeeeee . 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.