Copper Pipes
- Thread starter K-Dubbs
- Start date
I was just talking to the owner of my lfs the other day and she commented that a lady they serviced suddenly had corals dying and couldn't figure out why........... turns out they had some plumbing replaced or repaired and it was done with copper pipes......
now........ old copper pipes I would think would be "coated" enough that there would be no residue or copper contamination....
JMO
Dan
now........ old copper pipes I would think would be "coated" enough that there would be no residue or copper contamination....
JMO
Dan
In some cases, yes. But, fortunately, if you run the water for a while to clear out the water that has been sitting in the pipes, this is usually adequate to resolve any problems. The hotwater heaters can still be a concern--if you use hot water for your tank.
FWIW, I use hot water for my (freshwater) aquarium, and I have copper piping in the hot water heating system, and I can't keep snails alive. I have well water, so perhaps there is some copper in the water already, but just thought I'd mention that.
I picked up some stress coat and dosed the tank with it and added 3 more MTS, as the stress coat says it detoxifies heavy metals. I presume it has some sort of chelating agent. I'm going to use it in water changes as well for a while and see what happens to the snails...we'll see.
I picked up some stress coat and dosed the tank with it and added 3 more MTS, as the stress coat says it detoxifies heavy metals. I presume it has some sort of chelating agent. I'm going to use it in water changes as well for a while and see what happens to the snails...we'll see.
you could probably take a sample of your water to your lfs and get it tested.They should be able to tell you exactly whats in it.
In general the hot water will remove more chemicals from the piping or anything used to join and seal the pipes (like solder). Run cold water through the pipes for a little and use that and you will be much better off. It is even recommended that when you use water for cooking or drinking that you use cold water and then heat the water up if needed because of the same reasons. Most water heaters use copper piping. Cold water will be pulled from your water supply right to your faucet. You can often times notice a difference when you start with cold water compared to hot. I think of hot water as something only to use for showers, washing dishes, etc... not for consumption because you really can usually tell the difference. Sorry for the rant, but my father is a plumber and I grew up hearing the speaches and so now its my turn 
Rick
Rick
the only reason I use (part) hot water is because my cold water comes out at around 50 degrees and I don't have a container, nor room to put a container to pre-heat the water in. Not ideal I know, but it's what I have.
New copper pipes are far more likely to offer a hazard than pipes in place for some time. When this house was new, I did use resin beds to process the water, but gave it up after some months of living here as no longer needed. The snails,inverts,fish had no problems - FW, BW, SW.
I do use hot water mixed with cold routinely. Purging the tap and lines is standard for me for tank use. If you are in an area with severe water restictions, save the purged water for utility use. The suggestion that water standing in lines picks up more than water flowing through is an excellent one that I do subscribe to and deal with routinely.
I do use hot water mixed with cold routinely. Purging the tap and lines is standard for me for tank use. If you are in an area with severe water restictions, save the purged water for utility use. The suggestion that water standing in lines picks up more than water flowing through is an excellent one that I do subscribe to and deal with routinely.
If there's even a chance of copper in your tap water, I'd avoid using it at all costs.
Last week, I needed to do a top up on my 20 gallon reef tank. Normally I only use bottled RO water that I have delivered to my house every few weeks. With the sudden rise back up in tempatures outside, I wasn't prepared for extra 1 inch of evaporation.... So... I used tap water. I put in stress coat, de-chlorinator, de-chloramine -- I added it all!
Not even EIGHT hours later there was major crisis in my tank.... I've had to do a 25% water change evert day for the last 6 days. I lost a brittle star, a percula, 5 crabs, 8 snails and who knows what else there is that I can't see.
This has been the biggest aquarium disaster I've had yet (hopefully the last) and it all resulted in adding tap water that had copper in it.
BTW, my tank is still showing 0.05 copper.. which is amazing considering it was 0.29!
Last week, I needed to do a top up on my 20 gallon reef tank. Normally I only use bottled RO water that I have delivered to my house every few weeks. With the sudden rise back up in tempatures outside, I wasn't prepared for extra 1 inch of evaporation.... So... I used tap water. I put in stress coat, de-chlorinator, de-chloramine -- I added it all!
Not even EIGHT hours later there was major crisis in my tank.... I've had to do a 25% water change evert day for the last 6 days. I lost a brittle star, a percula, 5 crabs, 8 snails and who knows what else there is that I can't see.
This has been the biggest aquarium disaster I've had yet (hopefully the last) and it all resulted in adding tap water that had copper in it.
BTW, my tank is still showing 0.05 copper.. which is amazing considering it was 0.29!
If you have hot water, why do you need to heat it? :laugh: Just wanting to fun with you but there is no such thing as a hot water heater. It's a water heater. :danceOrionGirl said: