copper water pipes?

[ravenmore]

Hey guys, I live in an older apartment complex and my water pipes are copper. Any thoughts on how bad it'd be to use tap water from these pipes on my tank. I'll probably get a copper test kit and see, but just wondering if it'd leech copper into the tap water. I usually use ro/di but sometimes use tap water in a pinch.

Thanks,
-Mike

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I didn't do it. Nobody saw me do it. You can't prove anything.

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[icemark]

According to Shell Oil (who makes plastic water pipes BTW)70 percent of the potable water pipes in the USA in houses or apartments are copper.

If you are really worried about the copper, buy one of those DI water filters that hooks onto the faucet.

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Mark

Play Well

[ravenmore]

unfortunately I burn through those DI cartiges real fast. I've discovered my tapwater isn't actually all that bad, but it just has a high level of either chloramines (removed/handled by standard water treatment drops) or carbon dioxide(not particularly toxic to tank inhabitants, but it will exhaust a DI filter rapidly). For instance, I go through a standard tap water purifier cartidge in about 30 gallons. At least thats my theory without exhaustive testing - I've read a report from the city that Dallas water is actually rated fairly well.(if anyone else has better/different info, please let me know). In any event, I exhaust filter cartridges too rapidly for them to be practical.

[This message has been edited by ravenmore (edited 05-29-2001).]

[icemark]

Maybe just run it through some activated Charcoal then? That should pull out the copper.

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Mark

Play Well

[BigA]

With older copper pipes, it's the lead that you have to watch out for.

IMHO, I would plan on a buying a RO/DI filter sometime down the road. You can't count on local water quality 100% of the time, they often dump huge amounts of additives to correct problems.

Anyways, for now...Take your old TWP and dump the resin out and sandwich some carbon between two thick chunks of polyfilter and you should be good to go.

~Biga

[ravenmore]

good tip BigA - I'll give it a shot.

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I didn't do it. Nobody saw me do it. You can't prove anything.

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[cwa46]

Copper does not leach out of the pipes at a nutural PH. If it did, the pipes would slowly dissolve. Don't worry about copper pipes. Once you have added salt, then stay away from copper as the salt water will leach it.

[SPasse]

Ravenmore,

Old copper pipes, at least on the cold water side, do not leach a significant amount of copper into the water.

New copper pipes will leach some copper until they develop an oxidation film, but this happens in about a month of use.

Never use water from the hot water side. I can contain some copper. People who run their water heaters “hot” can actually get copper staining in their sinks, showers etc.

Regards,

Scott

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