New cobber pipes

Pretty much explains itself really. If you have questions about tank set-ups, tank furniture, (caves etc) chuck them in here!

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McEve
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New cobber pipes

Post by McEve »

Hi guys,

We just got new cobber pipes in the house. Should I be worried about an increased cobber content in the water? Does new pipes "leak" more cobber than old ones?
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Post by Adam »

Hi McEve,

I don't think that your new copper piping should be a problem, it might have been if you were keeping marines. Some marine inverts are very intolerant of copper, even tiny traces will kill them. I know that your tap water is soft with a very low Gh/Kh, so long as it is not acidic there shouldn't be a problem. Acidic water sources such as well water can corrode copper piping but the water authorities increase the carbonate content of the water so as to safeguard against this. I managed to find a link, hope it puts your mind at rest :wink: .

http://www.askthebuilder.com/084_Copper ... ater.shtml

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Post by McEve »

Thanks Adam,

I still feel a bit uneasy about the whole thing though.... I have one tap which doesn't have new pipes, so I think I'll use that for the time being. Can't be too careful....don't want to risk it! :roll:

My tapwater is also rather acidic...
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Post by Adam »

Hi McEve,

If you are still worried about copper leaching into your water then you could always run your water through a DI cartridge, that should remove any heavy metals from your water supply and a whole host of other things :wink: .
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Post by LyreTail »

Metal pipes are more of a problem, if your water from the tap is acidic as the acid water will corrode and oxidize the metal faster. However it is a good thing to run your water for a few minutes before using some for your fish or personal consumption. This purges out any possible buildup of metal ions.
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Post by Caesars »

Kinda relevant I think,

Plecs are rather sensitive to copper salts and medication containing copper. How would they react to traces of copper in the water?
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Post by LyreTail »

I have treated for ich with zebra Plecos and other Plecos ( clown loaches also) using two copper products one called "coppersafe" and another called "aquarisol" these two did not seem to create any stress at all even in my pond snails. I have used another copper product called "Had a snail" which is copper sulfate on other fish besides Plecos and this product killed snails and several barb "sharks" like the false SAE and the SAE.

I have been unable to find out why there is a difference between the copper sulfate and the ICH treatments that do not seem to harm fish and most plants. It might be a concentration or compounding issue

The important thing to note is that copper sulfate is more toxic at a lower pH and hardly toxic at all in very alkaline water. At a higher pH it takes a higher concentration of copper sulfate to be effective
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Post by Caesars »

LyreTail wrote:I have treated for ich with zebra Plecos and other Plecos ( clown loaches also) using two copper products one called "coppersafe" and another called "aquarisol" these two did not seem to create any stress at all even in my pond snails. I have used another copper product called "Had a snail" which is copper sulfate on other fish besides Plecos and this product killed snails and several barb "sharks" like the false SAE and the SAE.
That is very useful to know, just in case! I have put a UV steriliser in the tank to avoid passing on of diseases - in case - as I am totally paranoid with the plecs getting something and me having to treat, knowing how sensitive they are.
LyreTail wrote:The important thing to note is that copper sulfate is more toxic at a lower pH and hardly toxic at all in very alkaline water. At a higher pH it takes a higher concentration of copper sulfate to be effective
Of course, plecs will by definition be in a lower pH water! Which explains things ... (though I try to keep mine when not breeding at a steady 6,8 - 7). Are you suggesting the trick might be, when treating, to raise the pH slightly in order to minimise toxicity?
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Post by LyreTail »

Minimizing toxicity also minimizes effectiveness of the treatment for parasites. When pond owners use copper sulfate they calculate how much to add to a pond with a formula based on volume of pond and the Alkalinity of the water. I have also seen this formula passed on in university research papers. However, I notice on copper sulfate products sold in fish stores, do not mention different rates of treatment for different water. They just give a "one size fits all" treatment. This could very well be why some people have very disastrous effects with copper.

When it comes to the two copper products I mentioned earlier, they do not seem to have ill effect on fish or snails in even very soft water. I am not sure why this is. Perhaps because they are a chelated form of copper?

The primary ICH treatment ingredients in most medications is Formalin and Malachite green dye. Malachite green is a known carcinogen and Formalin ( a type of formaldehyde ) will greatly reduce dissolved oxygen levels in aquarium water. I find this treatment very disastrous for many fish. I loose perhaps 25% of my fish each time I try to use this stuff. I wonder if adding extra aeration during treatment would help?. Malachite green is also rendered useless as a treatment when it is exposed to light which is something not often discussed.

Another set of ingredients that I have tried and seem to not be very harmful to fish was Acriflavine and Victoria green dye. I have read somewhere the acriflavine can cause sterility in fish, so I would not use this treatment for something you want to spawn. I am not sure if it is true or not as I could not confirm this information. My swordtails that I used it on, continued to have fry for another year after treatment
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Post by Caesars »

Lyre, have you tried the Interpet Ich treatment? I think this doesn't contain formaldehyde. I will look into it to confirm - but I am almost sure that's what I chose it when I did.

In any case, I usually see lots of fry catfish in the shops arriving with whitespot. I am not touching any these days, I am convinced plecs are very difficult to treat if something goes wrong. Touch wood, since I put the UV steriliser on the tank I haven't had any problems (well, except once ... I don't want to remember about it :roll: )
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Post by LyreTail »

I tend to quarantine every fish, so I do all treatments or observations in the first month before moving the fish to their home.

We do not get the Interpret or Water life brand names in the USA as far as I know. I have seen some UK brands entering the US market recently such as Hydor. I have tried to find the ingredients for interpret and water life products online and can not seem to locate them> not knowing the exact ingredients makes it hard for me to help some people in my forums that only have access to these 2 brands. I make recommendations based on experience with active ingredients and not with the brand name. In reality most treatments are just copies of each other

There have been some new treatments available recently in the USA for ICH and other parasites that are not supposed to be harmful and organic / herbal based. I just do not have any experience with them
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