I think I screwed up already.

[mapleredta]

Was cooking my live rock in a rubbermade tote im not using saltwater so I could kill all the bad stuff on it. Well I used well water without thinking anything else about it.:doh: Anything I can do besides using distilled water or do you think it will be alright the way it is right now?

 

[theplatypus]

mapleredta;275147 wrote: Was cooking my live rock in a rubbermade tote im not using saltwater so I could kill all the bad stuff on it. Well I used well water without thinking anything else about it.:doh: Anything I can do besides using distilled water or do you think it will be alright the way it is right now?

"Cooking" live rock in fresh water just makes dead rock.

 

[thedeper]

The live rock turning dead thing shouldn't be that hard to fix for him, just re-cook the rock. My question would be that are there any harsh metals that would exist in well water that wouldn't be able to get out of his rock?

 

[derek_s]

Also the rock possibly absorbed any harmful minerals that were in the water. Like copper, and also crap like phosphates.

How many pounds of rock? I would probably not use it, unless you get your well water tested and make sure that it does not contain too much bad stuff.

 

[skriz]

Since the LR is now dead rock, just let it dry out and rinse it with rodi. There shouldn't be much of anything left at that point.

 

[theplatypus]

thedeper;275157 wrote: The live rock turning dead thing shouldn't be that hard to fix for him, just re-cook the rock. My question would be that are there any harsh metals that would exist in well water that wouldn't be able to get out of his rock?

It's just dead base rock now, it needs to be seeded.

 

[kwasniew]

you need to run something like cuprisorb from seachem or some other product to try and get the copper thats been absorbed out of that rock, otherwise its useless in anything but a fish only.

 

[smoothie]

Cook it again in ro water. If ya don't have a unit - take some quarters to the local super market and get 5gal to re-cook it all.

 

[hn1]

Derek_S;275158 wrote: Also the rock possibly absorbed any harmful minerals that were in the water. Like copper, and also crap like phosphates.

Kwasniew;275193 wrote: you need to run something like cuprisorb from seachem or some other product to try and get the copper thats been absorbed out of that rock, otherwise its useless in anything but a fish only.

Copper absorption / leakage is a myth at best. There is no credible evidence of it, it's a hobby fear only. Sells alot of product though....

 

[shromy]

you are fine, put it in the tank, everyone else flame me all you want really dont care. i have used nothing but tap water to setup every tank ive had nowhere near a"professional" but nothing has died on my end.

 

[darren neil]

Thats all i have ever used is tap water for all my salt water tanks. never had a bit of trouble with it. I have used both tap and OR water and my tank has done better with tap water.Thats all i use now for every thing from water changes to top off. I have pics of my tank on here its not the best tank but for from the worst.To see my tank click on my profile and go through my post.

 

[theplatypus]

shromy;275288 wrote: you are fine, put it in the tank, everyone else flame me all you want really dont care. i have used nothing but tap water to setup every tank ive had nowhere near a"professional" but nothing has died on my end.

In this instance it has nothing to do with tap or well water. His use of freshwater has killed everything that makes it live rock.

 

[mapleredta]

That was why I put the rock in non saltwater to kill all the hair allegy and start over. I was just concerned with the metals in the water. Last time I did a TDS check it was like .02. (I believe) We change the filter on the well every month. Thank you all for the help.

 

[derek_s]

Hooked Newbie;275287 wrote: Copper absorption / leakage is a myth at best. There is no credible evidence of it, it's a hobby fear only. Sells alot of product though....

When you say something like that you need to reference a source.

Copper concentration in the ocean is 0.254 ppb. Copper is toxic to invertebrates, especially mollusks, at concentrations as low as 2-3 ppb. That would be a 10-fold increase over natural seawater concentratons. Copper is toxic to fish at much, much higher concentrations -- in the ppm range. Hobby test kits cannot measure copper in the ppb range. In fact, even ICP cannot measure copper below 3 ppb.

Carbon is ineffective at removing copper that has been adsorbed by the glass walls of the aquarium or the calcareous substrate -- either live rock or calcium carbonate based sand or crushed coral. Copper that has been adsorbed will be gradually released over a long period of time. Carbon and commercial products, such as Cuprisorb, are ineffective at removing all of the copper at such low concentrations. You can remove enough of the copper that the tank will be safe for fish but it won't be safe for most invertebrates.

In order to make a tank that has been exposed to copper safe for invertebrates, it must be

 

[derek_s]

If the copper measured higher than 1 ppm ... all equipment, all live rock, all sediment and the glass tank itself -- is no longer safe for use as a reef aquarium. Some people will disagree with that assessment and say that all you have to do is run carbon and polyfilters but that won't remove all of the copper. What you may end up with is a tank that seems safe but that suffers all sorts of problems maintaining livestock long-term. This is what I have concluded from reading several threads on this exact same problem and having the hobbyist come back months later and say that it's just not working, his snails never live more than a week or two, etc.

<u> Dr. Ron Shimek</u>, who has decades of experience working in a marine lab in Washington state, says that live rock and sediment cannot be used again in a reef tank once exposed to copper and than a glass aquarium cannot be used unless it is subjected to an extremely tedious and dangerous decontamination process. The process is so ridiculous that it's not worth the effort, in my opinion. I have it somewhere on the board because it comes up so often and I guess I could post the link in here in case you want to see what it entails.

http://www.reefland.com/forum/reef-aquariums/17815-crash-then-some-2.html">http://www.reefland.com/forum/reef-aquariums/17815-crash-then-some-2.html</a>
</em>

 

[derek_s]

I'm not preaching either of the above references as teh truth, I'm just saying that some people more qualified than myself think copper can</em> be absorbed by teh substrate and LR.

 

[mapleredta]

Would you suggest using the rocks or not?

 

[rostato]

your rocks should be fine, just keep on keepin on. When all the algae is dies off then cook in Salt water...

 

[mapleredta]

rostato;275372 wrote: your rocks should be fine, just keep on keepin on. When all the algae is dies off then cook in Salt water...

You're the man.:up: You going to be around tonight? I think we are going to drop off a yellow tailed damsel at Haynes after work. (Around 7ish)

 

[rostato]

I should be home