Thinking about giving up on Inverts

[leeser28]

gee idk lisa im quickly running outta ideas. Seems like you're doing everything right so far. You said there was a possibility of copper pipes? When you filled for water changes, did you run the faucet for a minute or so to flush out the copper?

That I didn't do -- is running for a few minutes long enough to do that? The house was built in the 60's and hasn't had any plumbing upgrades -- I have no idea when they started using copper pipes and when they stopped.

It's all crazy isn't it? I guess this is why I'm more frustrated because I really can't figure out what needs to be fixed. Besides copper, any idea what else inverts might be sensitive too?

 

[snoopy65]

Heavy metals in general, but copper is deadly. If it was built in the 60s and it has had no upgrades it is most likely copper pipes with a chance that it is good old fashioned steel. Either way it may very well be leaching into the water. The idea with running your water a few minutes is to run enough water that the water that was sitting in your pipes is gone.

 

[pik01]

quite a few heavy metals and maybe any meds you might have used in the past? Some have been known to get into the silicone and seep back out

 

[leeser28]

What about metal chelater treatment? Would that be better than just running the water, or would that possibly be to much chemical stuff? (The only other thing I use is Prime.)

 

[leeser28]

quite a few heavy metals and maybe any meds you might have used in the past? Some have been known to get into the silicone and seep back out

Silicone is brand new, I re-sealed it early January. let it sit for a week, and then filled it with water and plants. I was very careful to get 100% silicone with no anti mold/mildew additives (I used Dow Corning, all the GE in our local store had the additives, but the Dow Corning didn't - only silicone).

 

[snoopy65]

Did you buy the tank used?

 

[leeser28]

Did you buy the tank used?

No, I got a 40 gal for Christmas so the fish that were in this tank went into the 40. I re-sealed it because the silicone was getting brittle and green with algae. I have 5 fish that I moved that all lived in it for more than 6 years - 2 who were in it for more than 7 years.

And, I only used vinegar to clean it inside and out, and still rinsed it thoroughly after tha.

 

[snoopy65]

Well it was a shot. I know that when certain things are used in a tank, inverts can never be kept in it.

 

[leeser28]

Well it was a shot. I know that when certain things are used in a tank, inverts can never be kept in it.

I figured that's what you were thinking -- good idea! I'm still wondering if I should put my rasbora in there. Do you think he might go after the shrimp - there are a lot of places to hide though.

 

[snoopy65]

I have ember tetras in with mine and they leave the shrimp alone. I think a harley would be ok.