So what's the big deal about Copper?

[lestregus]

cincyreefer- "Copper is essential for anything photosynthetic as well as for humans and probably most all animals. Too high of concentrations will hurt the algae because ROS levels exceed the capacity of the cell to use, which can tissue damage."
copper may be essential, however the high concentrations you are referring to are unfortunately found all too often in source water we use for our aquariums - except i'm not concerned with algae, i'm concerned with inverts...this is why you need to take precautions against copper in your tank.. no one has made claims of having a copper free tank. i think you should be more careful posting things like copper is essential in the new hobbyists forum because this could lead to some very disastrous confusion....

 

[cincyreefer]

I guess you didn't understand the reason why i said I havn't seen a reef tank copper free... That was to point out that every system I have ever seen has had plenty of copper needed by the algae/animals, so it shouldn't be an issue. How would you remove any extra copper from a system?

 

[lestregus]

i personally wouldnt have extra copper because i use good water...
if it shouldn't be a problem why did all of bheron's inverts die within hours - it can definatly be an issue as im sure he would tell you
if i made a mistake in the beginning with copper contaminated water i would just have a FO tank because that is the only safe think to do at that point. (and i would remove as much as possible with water changes with good water)

 

[lestregus]

i should have been more clear when i say i dont have extra Cu i mean i don't have a problem with inverts not perfect Cu levels