bige Posted June 11, 2012 Share Posted June 11, 2012 So about a year or so ago my heater exploded, fire, boiling water etc. So long story short, my coral won't grow. It looks alive but barely. These are all coral added 6 months after the heater explosion. After the heater exploded I ran tons of carbon changing every few days. Also ran the seachem heavy metal remover. But now my coral are deflated or lost all color. My water is text book spot on. Everything steady with no spikes. So any suggestions? Anyone know a chemist that can test the water for mercury or copper? Or anything else it might be. Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jestep Posted June 11, 2012 Share Posted June 11, 2012 I would bet it's a metal contamination issue. It's expensive to test for metals in small concentrations. The over the counter copper tests will only show in PPM and copper can be toxic in PPB. It's also pretty much impossible to remove metals from rocks and silicon sealant. Do you keep any other inverts in the tank? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bige Posted June 11, 2012 Author Share Posted June 11, 2012 Well after it exploded all inverts died. Then after 8 months I was finally able to keep a cleaner shrimp. So yes I have a cleaner shrimp but cannot keep a snail or hermit. This is what lead me to think its heavy metal. Should I just buy more heavy metal remover and just let it run? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
innate1 Posted June 11, 2012 Share Posted June 11, 2012 I had a clip on light that fell into my sump. I believe it caused metals to be leached into the tank. It took about a year with heavy duty water changes to bring it back around. I feel your pain. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bige Posted June 11, 2012 Author Share Posted June 11, 2012 I had a clip on light that fell into my sump. I believe it caused metals to be leached into the tank. It took about a year with heavy duty water changes to bring it back around. I feel your pain. I literally hate my tank. I have been so patient but come on. I may try some heavy metal remover but I've heard it won't come out of rocks or silicone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timfish Posted June 11, 2012 Share Posted June 11, 2012 This is pretty frustrating. At this point I would be considering replacing the rock and the sand. I don't know how much the silicone would absorb but I would exect much higher levels are in the substrate under the rocks and in the rocks. If you move some of the rocks you can see how much gunk gets trapped uder them. You might try first pulling out all the rock and remove all the substrate and put the rock back in with new sand. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bige Posted June 11, 2012 Author Share Posted June 11, 2012 Ok. That's easy. If I put in dry sand, will I see any cycle? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cMidd Posted June 11, 2012 Share Posted June 11, 2012 You could convert to bare bottom and replace rocks..think that's what I'd try. Large water change and get rid of anything that may have been "contaminated". That does suck though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bige Posted June 12, 2012 Author Share Posted June 12, 2012 I actually got rid of the sand once. Right after it happened. Then replaced it. But changing it again isn't too bad. I might just take the tank down and put it back up with new rock and sand. I mean if it looks terrible anyway... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
George Monnat Jr Posted June 12, 2012 Share Posted June 12, 2012 Have you run a Poly-Bio-Marine, Inc. Poly-Filter? It should turn blue if you have any copper leaching from your roacks/sand. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bige Posted June 12, 2012 Author Share Posted June 12, 2012 Have you run a Poly-Bio-Marine, Inc. Poly-Filter? It should turn blue if you have any copper leaching from your roacks/sand. Thanks for the link. I was looking for that. I'm gonna try it. Can't hurt anyway. Does aquatek or the dome sell it? Seems like I've seen it somewhere. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
George Monnat Jr Posted June 12, 2012 Share Posted June 12, 2012 I don't know about other places, I buy them at RCA. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bige Posted June 12, 2012 Author Share Posted June 12, 2012 I don't know about other places, I buy them at RCA. Ok thanks. I'll start south then work my way up. Darn, I guess I have to go to three fish stores today. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nwehrman Posted June 12, 2012 Share Posted June 12, 2012 Dome has them also Nicole Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bige Posted June 12, 2012 Author Share Posted June 12, 2012 Thanks. I just got back from the dome with the poly filter. I hope it works. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Niko's Reef Posted June 12, 2012 Share Posted June 12, 2012 Good luck Bige. Hope it works out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
barderer Posted June 14, 2012 Share Posted June 14, 2012 Copper in its metallic form in your tank for a few hours is not going to cause copper poisoning. It needs to oxidize, to "solubilize", only then will it be in its toxic form. Also any heavy metals that have been in your tank that long should have been absorbed by your aragonite, a form of calcium carbonate (CACO3) that readily swaps out its calcium atoms in favor of heavy metals, locking them into a solid form. But if the exposed heater was in there for a day or so. Then yeah, you are screwed. Did you change your rocks yet? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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