Copper leaching from caulking?

[sbash]

I picked up a used tank and the caulking is blue. I remember the previous owner mentioning he treated his fish for ich in the tank.

Would this cause me problems with corals and leaching copper?

There is more to it, but let's start here Also, I tested the water with my api copper kit and its was 0...

 

[melypr1985]

I picked up a used tank and the caulking is blue. I remember the previous owner mentioning he treated his fish for ich in the tank.

Would this cause me problems with corals and leaching copper?

There is more to it, but let's start here Also, I tested the water with my api copper kit and its was 0...

No, the silicone shouldn't leach copper into the water. Also, copper wouldn't change the silicone's color to blue. Now, quickcure might or methyline blue might.

 

[ChadLo]

I picked up a used tank and the caulking is blue. I remember the previous owner mentioning he treated his fish for ich in the tank.

Would this cause me problems with corals and leaching copper?

There is more to it, but let's start here Also, I tested the water with my api copper kit and its was 0...

Here is my input for what it's worth... typically i think you run in to leaching issues more with rock. If at any point he used a seachem product (like paraguard), that may be the cause for the blue coloration. As far as test kit goes, api is decent for higher levels of copper. I think red sea may have a low range test kit. If you are really concerned, you could run cuprisorb. That would filter out copper. There are TRACE amounts of copper in salts and such as well. So would it really leach enough to do harm? I don't think so. I've been reefing for about a year only though. Could always start with a couple cheap frags to test the waters. Hope this helps. Also, what size tank? That may play in to it as well.

 

[sbash]

No, the silicone shouldn't leach copper into the water. Also, copper wouldn't change the silicone's color to blue. Now, quickcure might or methyline blue might.

Thanks for the response!

I just assumed copper... Here is the direct quote "The last ich treatment i did in my tank tinged the seal blueish"... The statement also implies multiple ich treatments :S

So okay, let's assume it was one of the two products you mention... Are they reef safe, or even live rock safe?

 

[sbash]

Could always start with a couple cheap frags to test the waters. Hope this helps. Also, what size tank? That may play in to it as well.

Well, I did, and they died... And I'm trying to find the source, either the seals leached something bad, or I unleashed a toxin while dipping the corals...

 

[melypr1985]

So okay, let's assume it was one of the two products you mention... Are they reef safe, or even live rock safe?

No, neither of them are reef, coral, invert, or rock safe. I have no experience with those meds and leaching from silicone. I wouldn't even know how to test for it aside from using coral frags. I would have to assume that this tank isn't safe to use as a display.

 

[sbash]

No, neither of them are reef, coral, invert, or rock safe. I have no experience with those meds and leaching from silicone. I wouldn't even know how to test for it aside from using coral frags. I would have to assume that this tank isn't safe to use as a display.

Yeah, I wanted it to hold liverock in my fish room... I set it up as a temp frag tank while I treated my primary tank for pests... At first I thought I might have killed off a pest that releases toxins and not rinsed the frag properly, but it was pretty bad... almost every LPS and all SPS I treated and transfered died (my huge fox colony and a small hammer colony were the only survivors and they were hurting bad)... All the softies survived (except the xenias)...

Then it occurred to me there could have been something leaching from the tank... so here we are...

It's still cold here, so I have to clean it outdoors, lol, once it stays above freezing for an full afternoon I will scrub it down. I think I will fill it up with tap water (instead of RO, I'm on a well, so it can't be that bad, lol) and see what happens, I have lots of monti caps I can use to test (although I hate to experiment like this, but I have little choice I think - aside from stripping the tank down to the glass and rebuilding it)...

 

[ChadLo]

Well, I did, and they died... And I'm trying to find the source, either the seals leached something bad, or I unleashed a toxin while dipping the corals...

What do you have for lighting? What corals did you try? What are your water parameters?

 

[sbash]

What do you have for lighting? What corals did you try? What are your water parameters?

I appreciate your questions, but they are out of scope for what I am looking for... Fresh 1.026 IO Reef crystals should be pretty ideal water conditions, and FULL death inside of 24 hours eliminates lighting as a problem...

 

[Big G]

Consider trying washing the tank with vinegar. The vinegar causes any copper residue to precipitate into a harmless form. Wash, rinse, rinse, rinse, dry. Has worked really well for me. As suggested above, I'd try a cheap frag to be sure.

 

[Jeepguy242]

You could always cut the silicone out and re seal the tank

 

[sbash]

You could always cut the silicone out and re seal the tank

It also sprung a leak when I moved it last, so this is a real possibility (given I have to do the bottom anyway). It's still pretty cold where I live (barely above 30F in the afternoons), and I need to wash it outside, it is too big to wash in a sink, lol...

Do you think just cutting the inside silicon would be good enough? I just want the tank for live rock, so I have no issues with big ugly beads

 

[Jeepguy242]

It also sprung a leak when I moved it last, so this is a real possibility (given I have to do the bottom anyway). It's still pretty cold where I live (barely above 30F in the afternoons), and I need to wash it outside, it is too big to wash in a sink, lol...

Do you think just cutting the inside silicon would be good enough? I just want the tank for live rock, so I have no issues with big ugly beads

its quite easy if you have the space to do it.... definitely in the garage as the silicone stinks pretty bad for a couple of days....

i have done it on 4 or 5 tanks now.... i find black silicone looks the best on the finished product....


all you have to do is using a razor blade cut the silicone out without getting into the silicone that is actually bonding the pieces together.... make the first cut on the side that the silicone does not go between the glass panes... then cut from the side that does... pulling on the piece you are cutting helps let you see the depth you need to go... after its all cut out, front sides and bottom, tape it off with some blue painters tape.... take your time getting the tape right... the more time you spend taping the better it will look...


then seal it all in 1 shot and use your finger to press the silicone into the corner and make a nice smooth rounded seal.... use water on your finger to keep the silicone from sticking, and have plenty of paper towels handy to wipe off what sticks to your finger...


let the silicone "skin" over for about 20 minutes, then carefully remove the tape... pulling it at an angle and back against itself...

let it cure for about a week.....


it will look like a million bucks when your done...........


yo can do this!!!!

 

[sbash]

all you have to do is using a razor blade cut the silicone out without getting into the silicone that is actually bonding the pieces together.... make the first cut on the side that the silicone does not go between the glass panes... then cut from the side that does... pulling on the piece you are cutting helps let you see the depth you need to go... after its all cut out, front sides and bottom, tape it off with some blue painters tape.... take your time getting the tape right... the more time you spend taping the better it will look...

This sounds like a good technique! I've done plenty of my own silicon work (with glass), so working with the caulking is not going to be an issue. Did you use acetone or anything to help clear up the residue left behind by the razor, or were you able to get enough off to recreate the silicone bond on the glass properly?

 

[sbash]

Just a quick update... I decided to reseal the tank. The weather warmed up to about +5 C, so I was able to take the tank outside and give it a cleaning. I set it up in my garage for easy access (sacrificing my parking spot of course). Removing the old caulking went much faster than I expected. In under two hours, I had the tank cleaned up on the inside. I still need to rinse it out before applying the new caulking. A wind storm came through, so I didn't want to drag the tank outside to rinse it and have it blow over in my driveway (lol); then we has a snow storm (great timing to park outside eh?) and it was -10 C today, so I didn't want to blast it with hot water with the cold air. It should be above freezing tomorrow, hopefully I can get it washed out to let dry inside overnight. Anyway, I digress:

As you can see, very blue!

After the first pass, it almost seems more blue?

After the second pass, the glass looks brand new and ready for a reseal! The bottom edge was the hardest and probably did not turn out as well. With the black trim in the 'background' it is hard to see (and reach) where the residue is. Either way, this tank is for live rock, so I'll just put a big thick ugly seam around the bottom to make up for it...

 

[sbash]

Well, the tank is all resealed and filled with water. No signs of stress from my couple of test corals; so I think we are all good! Thanks everyone!