[brooke]

Here are some numerous things that are growing in my 55 gal saltwater tank. I'm not really sure what any of this is. Most of these are red type things growing on the live rock. One piece of the live rock is turning blackish. It started as green slime algae, and it's turning black. Please help.

[brooke]

Here are a few more, I couldn't get them all in the first msg.

[brooke]

I just found out my tank has copper in it, so everything but the fish will be trashed. So I really don't care what's on the live rock that I'm throwing away

[John Hamilton]

Originally Posted by brooke

I just found out my tank has copper in it, so everything but the fish will be trashed. So I really don't care what's on the live rock that I'm throwing away

Why?

[brooke]

Originally Posted by John Hamilton

Why?

Why what?

[John Hamilton]

Originally Posted by brooke

Why what?

I was asking "why toss it out" but I read some other topics and found the answer. Sorry you have to toss out everything but the fish.

[Ninong]

This is a tricky call. Copper is extremely toxic to invertebrates in very low concentrations. If the copper medication had been used in the tank with the live rock in there, then the live rock would absolutely be trash. However, it is impossible to know for sure how much harm has come to the live rock by being in this contaminated tank. It could go either way. It is possible that the live rock is "OK" and could be used again but on the other hand it is also possible that it may have a slight copper problem.

There is no doubt that the glass tank is the culprit. It is releasing copper. The tank has to go. After that decision (the easy one), the other decisions are just guesses. The sand bed should be discarded. As for the live rock, I really can't say. The safe answer would be to get rid of it but that's one of those judgement calls.

[Ninong]

I don't know if I would want to use the live rock again but if someone were thinking of doing that, they should stick a polyfilter in the sump and run the tank for at least a few weeks with the polyfilter before even thinking of putting livestock in it. Of course, there is always the risk that the live rock actually has absorbed/adsorbed enough copper to be toxic to invertebrates for some time to come.

Another possibility, I suppose, would be to remove the live rock to a temporary holding container (large plastic tub) with a powerhead for water circulation. You probably don't need a heater this time of the year. As long as the water stays above 65 degrees Fahrenheit, everything should be OK with the live rock. Then you would need to run water tests for copper on the water in the plastic tub before deciding if you wanted to used the live rock in a future reef tank. You would have to use a high quality copper test kit.

The LFS that supposedly tested the water in this aquarium for copper was either using a cheapy test kit or they didn't perform the test properly.

[brooke]

Isn't copper deadly to marine plant life also?

[Ninong]

Originally Posted by brooke

Isn't copper deadly to marine plant life also?

Yes, but invertebrates are affected at levels much lower than anything else, including plants. That's why your macroalgae on your live rock is not showing signs of distress.

[Ninong]

This is one of those decisions that I hate to talk about because I would hate for you to set up the new tank with this live rock and then have things go bad. Chances are that the live rock is still OK but that's not a guarantee. Glass is known to adsorb copper. Once it adsorbs copper, it gradually releases it over a long period of time. That's why the tank is killing off your snails and hermits.

Re-using the live rock is up to you. It might work. Or it might not.

[brooke]

Is that what all that stuff is, macroalgae?

[Ninong]

Originally Posted by brooke

Is that what all that stuff is, macroalgae?

The leafy stuff is macroalgae. The pink-purple spots are coralline algae. The green soft grassy looking stuff is nuisance turf algae, either Bryopsis or Derbesia. Some of the other stuff I can't see clearly enough.