how do you get copper in your tank?

[sandoval]

how does copper get into your aquarium? and is it something you can cure?

[CSeaSee]

Copper-containing compounds are used to treat ich in fish. The substance can get in that way. I think if any LR was recycled from a tank that had been treated w/ copper, that rock may also leach out copper, but I don't know how much can enter from that process. Although inverts are very sensitive to copper...

[sandoval]

how do you get rid of copper? i know i had to treat ich in my tank about 3 months ago.

[Reefland]

You don't get rid of copper once you put it in an aquarium. Copper will absorb in nearly every surface in your tank including the glass and will almost always be present afterwards. The problem is that copper is lethal in the 1-2 ppb level so even the smallest amount will give you headaches for a long time to come. If you are really interested in learning about the decontamination process, read the following post. My advice however would be to get a new tank or give up on ever keeping inverts.
http://www.reefland.com/forum/showth...ion#post102419

[sandoval]

here you say that copper will go onto the glass walls. does that mean that the brown stuff on my glass walls is copper

[brooke]

The brown stuff is more than likely algae.

[Reefland]

Diatoms most likely.