heater explosion

[aznkingfisher]

my friend is giving me away his live rocks,after his heater exploded in his tank.my question is the heater inside has a tin-plated copper wire.is the lr gonna be okie.lr will be use for reef tank.i know copper is bad.will the copper go away if i cook the live rocks.tanx in advance....

[tdwyatt]

I imagine that if you stack the rock in a barrel for a while with fresh ASW and a pump to circulate it, then allow it to cook for a month or two, test the water for copper. If there is not any detectable copper in the water after a few months, they you might consider using it in a tank o barrel with some sort of "canary in the coal mine" creature, probably a few shrimp to see if the copper has any effect.

Many "if"s, how long was the copper in the same water, was there current flowing, did the rock stand for a length of time with the old water, etc. I m sure many folks will speculate on potential problems with this scenario.


HTH

[partobe]

I would test his water for copper and see what the results are.

[Loverotties]

Originally Posted by partobe

I would test his water for copper and see what the results are.

I would too! and run some carcole too!

[Wiskey]

I think you will be just fine,. provided the heater wasn't sitting in the water forever carroding. I've heard of plenty of people who have had a heater break in their tanks before and they just went on with the tank

In fact I've broken 2 myself and not replaced anything, but I got them out of the tank right away.

Whiskey

[Jnicho]

I had 2 brass (copper alloy if you didn't know) fittings in my current tank for a few weeks (don't ask, stupid mistake for someone who has been keeping tanks for 20+ years) when I set it up. It did cause problems with some inverts when I added them. As soon as I realized the problem I removed the brass. I ran carbon for several days after that, and the tank has been flourishing ever since. IMO/IME you have nothing to worry about.

[Phishy]

the same company that make purigen (teh name escapes me) also make a media that will absorb copper. Check their website.

[Fly Guy]

I dont know how much we are ta;king about here.....but personally I dont think its worth the effort. Especially not even knowing if the rock is worth anything even if the copper isnt in there.

Buy some marco rock for a couple bucks a pound and seed it for the same amount of time this little copper testing exepriment will take, you will have guaranteed sweet rock that is light, porous, and clearly not contaminated with copper to start a tank up with.........take it one stip farther and cook it after it has been seeded....not necessary, but beneficial.....

Many people use very dense heavy rock becasue they dont know any better. A small box of marco rock....if nothing else is a great way for people to get in their hands what everyone is talking about when they talk about light and porous. ALL marco rock I have seen satisfies this basic necessity

[aznkingfisher]

i spoke to him just a hour ago and he said he took that heater right away.that happened a month ago.he said hes skimmer is running from that tyme till now.do u guys think that the skimmer got rid of the copper thing.iwas planning on mixing the live rock with my tank that has a live rock with it.of course after i cook that lr.

[DarthOcellaris]

I agree with both Wiskey and Fly...I think you'd be just fine using the rock as-is especially since he said he removed the heater asap...

I agree with fly that taking the time to test for copper is lengthy and not worth it.

I say take the rock from him but still cook it ( always a great idea ) and just forget about the copper all together

[motorslave]

Test th water. Is there ny critters in the tank since the break? If all tests ok and thier are verts in there, go for it.

[aznkingfisher]

he said they all died...and something about creating a flood in the house that his interest in doing it all over again is gone.he said he need a breaK.he need to sell the house anyway thats why....he also thinks that the lr is safe...he had that running for 2 years...

[chrischris]

ya the rock should be fine but just to be safe you should test for copper in his water