F*&% Up of epic proportion!!!
 

Several months ago I fully automated my 135 gallon tank with apex and ato etc. I was so proud of my new setup that i never had to touch. 3 weeks ago I lost all coral and inverts. Started testing for everything under the sun and found nothing until I got to copper. Without even thinking about it I used a brass fiting coming from the ato pump to the hose and have now destroyed my tank. I have been reading like crazy on the web and I am sick to my stomach with what I see. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Can I save my tank? Is there any chance of saving the live rock. I cannot bring my self to throw out 120 lbs of live rock. Also does any one in the surrey/ vancouver area have a 50 or so gallon tank sitting around that I can borrow to house my fish while the cleanup is happening?

seachem CupriSorb might work, never tried it though...

Gonna pick some up today and give it a try. I'm going to replace the sand for sure and hopefully save the live rock.

If you can read copper with a test kit, the rock is probably shot.

I'm so sorry. That's so terrible. Hopefully it doesn't deter you from trying again.

I find it surprising that a brass fitting on the ATO line can have such an effect, it really actually makes no sense unless it was actually submerged in the tank somehow allowing it to corrode faster. People use tap water in there reefs for decades and their house lines are full of copper and brass fittings. Is there another source the copper may have come from?

+1

I can't see how a single fitting could suddenly produce toxic levels seemingly overnight.

People fill their tanks with tap water, which usually runs through a copper line... I'm suprised a fitting would cause a huge impact, maybe due to the low PH somehow?

Anyway, what was your copper reading?

The line has been sitting in my 50 gallon top off tank permanently. I never thought anything of it my self but right now it is the only thing that makes sense as to why everything is dead.

Did you use Kent carbon that was subject to the recall due to copper?