Stupid brass/copper mistake

Hey guys, first post here. I'm relatively new to the hobby in the saltwater arena. I have a 37 gal saltwater tank, up and running great until a bad batch of instant ocean crashed it a couple weeks ago...

So onto the delema/question: I bought some live rock, it was cured. I placed in it a plastic container with a mag drive pump... that I had left a brass fitting on(I know, stupid...) It's been in there with the pump circulating water, air stone, protein skimmer, and 3-4 inches of sand for nearly a month now.
I tested the water with a copper test kit(I have removed the brass fitting) and it looks like it's just barely not clear, indicating .25 ppm.

My question is this: Is all that live rock worthless now?

Should I sell it to someone who has fish only? Can I somehow leach the copper out of it?

I do plan on:
-keeping shrimp
-keeping snails
-keeping crabs
-keeping corals

Thanks for any input guys

 

Well, it's a tough call. I would soak it in some RO/DI water for a while. I would retest the water to make sure. Selling it to a person who wants a fish only tank is an option, but if they ever wanted coral or inverts, they may run into problems down the road.

 

Hmm... Try puting the rock ... and only the rock in a new bucket or tub put new mixed salt water in it.. and soak the rock for lets say 24-48hrs or longer your call... test again... the metal content may be commin from the sand..? or the rock ..? But test them seperatly with new water... and see what outcomes you get... Hoppfully you get a .00ppm
Just a idea.....

Good Luck..!!

 

Hey Fuzz, what do you mean; "until a bad batch of instant ocean crashed it ". How can you be sure it was the salt itself and not some other contaminant that got in the water?

 

IO has had a lot of bad batches but you're correct, there's no way to know.

Get some Cuprisorb by Seachem and/or a polyfilter, let it run for a bit and then don't worry about it. Copper is a part of NSW, just not in the concentrations used to kill fish parasites.

 

Everything in my tank was doing great till i switched over from a big bag of IO salt, to a buck of IO salt. Couldn't seem to determin my problem. Tested several fresh batchs of salt and found kh to be sky high(16dkh), calcium 3x's of what it should be(nearly 1200), and mg to be nearly half(about 600-700) of what it should be. Called the manufacture, they agreed the batch I had WAS bad and offered me another bucket.

.
Even at .25ppm you think I'll be okay with corals and such?
Almost everything about this hobby is opinion, and personal experience...
Has anyone known another to have this problem, and come out later with any ill effects later? All I have read are horror stories…
CupiSorb claims “When in continuous use, it gradually pulls out precipitated copper and permits invertebrate culture in tanks previously treated with copper.” Any takers on that bold claim?
Thanks to everyone else for your input. I've been letting the rock sit in just plain ro water now for about 24 hours. Gonna test it daily for the next couple weeks. It's in a different container all together so that shouldnt taint my results.

 

Just a small update on my dilemma...
Bucked of RO water that has the rock in it with a couple power heads, still doesn't show the slightest bit of copper in tests!

 

awesome....!!!!!!11!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

I would run the Cupri-sorb anyhow just to stay on the safe side.

 

i HAVE SOME CUPRISORB IN THERE NOW WITH THE ROCKS. ALL READINGS ARE STILL ZERO FOR COPPER.

FROM WHAT I HAVE GATHERED, THE COPPER WILL ONLY LEECH OUT WHEN IT IS IN SALTWATER.
CAN ANYONE BACK THAT STATEMENT UP WITH ACTUAL FACTS?