changing fish only tank into a reef tank

[dolfan]

Hi, I have a 40gallon fish only tank powered by a 330 biowheel and a cpr bak pak protien skimmer with 50lbs. of lr. After 3 years in the hobby I'm thinking of going into a reef tank. About 3 months ago I put in some copper safe to cure a disease that one of my fish had.How do you get the copper out? Will water changes do it? I heard that the sand and the live rock can absorb the copper, is there something i could put in the tank that could break it down.I want to start with invert. and gradually get into coral. Please help .
thanks.
Joe.

 

[byrself]

well, that copper sure is a prob. they do have some copper remover media that's supposed to work, but if it gets absorbed in the live rock i think it's a pretty nasty prob. if it weren't for that this would have been a fairly easy question to answer. maybe someone with some personal experience with that could help. good luck.

 

[ruaround]

I would have to agree that the copper is gonna be a prob... What inhabits your tank now, and what are your goals in the conversion???

 

[fallen04]

around 95% of all copper additives only stay in your tank for a month or so if that. you can test but you will find that you are fine. if you are nervous use a filter media. in my 240 i used copper and then got a nurse shark and they cannot be around copper at all. i put her in two months after the copper and there was no trace of it. you will be fine

 

[byrself]

i think fallen04 just gave some great advice. i used the copper for a little while as a preventive thing while using bottled distilled water. that might be your best bet.
dolfan, i think your setup is perfect for a reef changeover. all you possibly could need otherwise is better lighting. everything else looks straight to me.
jmo hth gl lol

 

[nm reef]

Although I am not an expert about the potential damage that can be caused by copper...I do not think your conversion plans are sound!It is my understanding that some medications can cause contamination to the point that it will stay in the LR and LS...in effect making it difficult if not impossible to maintain a reef type set-up. Most corals/crabs/snails can be severely affected by trace amounts of copper...and it is my understanding that if you medicated your system...and that system had LR&LS then it is possible that your LR&LS is contaminated.
This is a topic that may require more responses from folks far more experienced than me...and a lot more research before the conversion takes place. Personally...at this point...based on my understanding of the potential risks...I would say hold off and intensely research this prior to attempting it!!

 

[fallen04]

coppersafe is one of the weakest of all the treatments you can use in a tank. what other type of chemicals have you added to your tank in the last 6 months? treatments for fo tanks are weak as far as lasting in the tank. these items will leach from the sand and rock at a fairly fast rate. unfortunately for the fish who need the meds. the longest lasting treatments are usually antibiotics and even then they fade out.

 

[fallen04]

i am not making this up as i go along i have been doing this for over 20+ years and i wouldn't say something that would get someone elses tank into trouble

 

[byrself]

i admit that fallen's advice sure does go against what i've heard, but i've also heard that nurse sharks aren't supposed to tolerate even trace amounts of copper. i thought about using snails as a kind of indicator. i mean, if copper was so deadly, it should kill snails at least right? kinda a morbid way to test a tank for copper, but should be a good indicator right? i guess a nurse shark would be a far more expensive "lab rat" than a snail, but same principle. (i am relieved to hear that you have 20 years experience with this though =)
i did wonder though why when i bought my copper test kit, it has a bottle of copper treatments in it. the test kit is only for maintaining levels of copper to high levels for ich treatments. i tried to use the copper test to try to detect trace amounts, and it was basically useless. but other people have these horror stories of copper contaminations. <img src="graemlins//confused.gif" border="0" alt="[confused]" />