Hi everyone,
A fellow Bloemfontein reefkeeper has recently upgraded to a larger tank, and in the process it would appear as if someone either dropped a brass screw of some copper wire "cuttings" from an electrical conduit into the tank. After running the tank for about 6 weeks, using the LR from his previous tanks, we've discovered that the water contains about 0.2 -0.3 ppm copper - WAY above the maximum allowable level for a reef setup
Anyway, he managed to move all his corals to another aquarist's tank, and they have fortunately all recovered. He will be removing the LR (about 200 kg...) during the next day or two in order to catch his fish, so as to move them to a temporary aquarium. Most of the worms, etc. living in the LR have already died. Now as everyone knows, 200 kg of live rock is a substantial investment, so rather than throwing it all away, we would rather kill off all life, remove the copper, and then re-seed the LR using a few selected pieces from other tanks (and perhaps a few new pieces...)
So,...
We will try to remove most of the copper trapped in the rock by reducing the pH of the water to around 6.0, using CO2. The reduced pH should increase the solubility of the copper, allowing most of it to leach out of the rock. After a day or two, the water will be discarded. Seeing as the LR is already nearly dead, and as the reduced pH will kill off the remaining life, we then plan to fill up the tank with just RO water, and to repeat the CO2 acidification one more time (or more, obviously testing for copper every time...), before adding fresh salt water.
Apart from the above treatment, we would like to use some Seachem CupriSorb and/or Poly-Bio-Marine Polyfilter to aid in the copper removal (or any other product known to work in this regard - please advise...).
Please comment on our proposed method.
Also, if any of the sponsors sell either CubriSorb or Polyfilters, or if anyone know of any dealer who sells these products in South Africa, PLEASE let me know by posting their details, or by sending me a private message - it will REALLY be appreciated.
A fellow Bloemfontein reefkeeper has recently upgraded to a larger tank, and in the process it would appear as if someone either dropped a brass screw of some copper wire "cuttings" from an electrical conduit into the tank. After running the tank for about 6 weeks, using the LR from his previous tanks, we've discovered that the water contains about 0.2 -0.3 ppm copper - WAY above the maximum allowable level for a reef setup
Anyway, he managed to move all his corals to another aquarist's tank, and they have fortunately all recovered. He will be removing the LR (about 200 kg...) during the next day or two in order to catch his fish, so as to move them to a temporary aquarium. Most of the worms, etc. living in the LR have already died. Now as everyone knows, 200 kg of live rock is a substantial investment, so rather than throwing it all away, we would rather kill off all life, remove the copper, and then re-seed the LR using a few selected pieces from other tanks (and perhaps a few new pieces...)
So,...
We will try to remove most of the copper trapped in the rock by reducing the pH of the water to around 6.0, using CO2. The reduced pH should increase the solubility of the copper, allowing most of it to leach out of the rock. After a day or two, the water will be discarded. Seeing as the LR is already nearly dead, and as the reduced pH will kill off the remaining life, we then plan to fill up the tank with just RO water, and to repeat the CO2 acidification one more time (or more, obviously testing for copper every time...), before adding fresh salt water.
Apart from the above treatment, we would like to use some Seachem CupriSorb and/or Poly-Bio-Marine Polyfilter to aid in the copper removal (or any other product known to work in this regard - please advise...).
Please comment on our proposed method.
Also, if any of the sponsors sell either CubriSorb or Polyfilters, or if anyone know of any dealer who sells these products in South Africa, PLEASE let me know by posting their details, or by sending me a private message - it will REALLY be appreciated.
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