# Help: Cleaning a Tank That had Copper



## Frank1971 (Aug 23, 2010)

I used my 29 gallon tank as a hospital tank last week, only had it up for 4 days until I took it down and decided to deal with my ick problem in a different way. That being said, I didn't realize that by using medication that I was condemning this tank because of the copper. So I have been reading on how I can clean this tank out, so that I can introduce some invertebrates at some point in the future. So far I have thoroughly rinsed it with a mix of hot water and white vinegar, after drying out, I took a straight clothe soaked with vinegar (only) and gave another thoroughly wipe down and a complete second rinse with hot water. I have it sitting out in the sun for a complete dry. However, I still see the blue residue along the silicone of the tank. Is this bad news? Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated.


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## majerah1 (Oct 29, 2010)

You can try to scrub it down with bleach.After the scrub down,rinse it well,soak it in the sun for a few days and then re rinse in water with a little extra dechlor.

IM not exactly positive that you will ever get rid of it,but then again I dont know because Ive never kept shrimp.


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## Reefing Madness (Aug 12, 2011)

The blue is a marking that copper was used. The tank is basically a Med tank now, you are not going to get the Copper out of the Glass. You can resilicone the tank, but the copper will remain in the glass for a long time. You can reseal it, let it set 72 hours, then fill it, run if for a few days, then test for copper. I don't believe that you can get it out that fast.


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## snail (Aug 6, 2010)

This is interesting:
Copper

If you do get to the point you think it might be safe to use try adding a couple of pond snails or something then a ghost shrimp, if they survive then you could be a bit more confident to add other inverts.


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## NeonShark666 (Dec 13, 2010)

Test your tank by fillig it, install a heater and an aeriator and test the water in your tank after a few weeks for copper. Crustaceans are usually the most sensative to copper so put in a few snails as Canarys. A low ph tends to dissolve copper, a high ph does not. If you decide to use the tank for fish, keep the ph high (+8.0) and make frequent water changes for safety and don't put in expensive or valuable fish.


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## Kev1jm2 (Oct 18, 2011)

I didn't realize that glass was porus enough to absorb and leach copper after 4 days of a med treatment followed by multiple heavy scrubbings....


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## majerah1 (Oct 29, 2010)

Wow I didnt either,good to know.


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## whitetiger61 (Aug 2, 2011)

Reefing Madness is correct..you will not be able to remove all the copper..the blue on the silicone will remain there forever unless you re seal the tank..i did this in my 15 gallon and the blue is still there..i am now using this tank for a planted tank but only after lots of scrubbing and the tank running for over a year with nothing in it..i have tested for copper and found no trace of itin the water column so i added my plants and fish to the tank..i still test every week to this day..i have some pond snails that i need to get rid of(hate those things) so that also tells me the tank is fine to use..just clean it really good and run it for awhile and do water changes on it then test until you get very low readings or no reading at all..it will eventually go away but it takes a very long time.

Rick


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## Reefing Madness (Aug 12, 2011)

whitetiger61 said:


> Reefing Madness is correct..you will not be able to remove all the copper..the blue on the silicone will remain there forever unless you re seal the tank..i did this in my 15 gallon and the blue is still there..i am now using this tank for a planted tank but only after lots of scrubbing and the tank running for over a year with nothing in it..i have tested for copper and found no trace of itin the water column so i added my plants and fish to the tank..i still test every week to this day..i have some pond snails that i need to get rid of(hate those things) so that also tells me the tank is fine to use..just clean it really good and run it for awhile and do water changes on it then test until you get very low readings or no reading at all..it will eventually go away but it takes a very long time.
> 
> Rick


*i/a*


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## whitetiger61 (Aug 2, 2011)

After reading my post.i should re phase my last words..it wont all ever go away but it will be below detectable levels..

Rick


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