I was not home for the past tree weeks.
The first thing that i did after looking what the damages was, was a water change.
I havend lost 1 fish, so that was good to see.
And allmoste no allgies, so i think that the coppertric has worked. I have put somme coppercoins in a stocking.
I have changed about 2.5/4 of my 60 liter tank.
I have hooverd the bottem very well and my last bucked was almost cleer.
I added Vitamins and i am thinking about adding liquid bacteria.
My question is: What woold you do after 3 weeks
I don't think I'd do anything other than a couple more large WC over the period of a week.
Agreed, your bio should be fine....just do some nice water changes...
The water changes are what I would do too. While the pennies probably caused no harm, do be aware that copper can be toxic to fish. Your water changes will remove it.
Copper sulfate is used as an algaecide and weed killer in ponds. It tends to accumulate in the pond substrate and can kill invertebrates and be harmful to the fish.
A fish guy once told me when I lived on the Gulf Coast and got copepods that were eating my fry that copper worked on them. I added one penny to each tank, as he suggested. He said that the pennies had to have been made before a date that I cannot remember. I've moved a bit north and no longer have a problem with them.
I cannot see tossing a bag of generic pennies in to a fish tank unless someone like Mr. Spock can tell me why it's a good idea.
I read that the U. S. pennies between 1962-1982 are the ones that work.
Quote from: PaulineMi on September 01, 2013, 06:20:46 PM
I read that the U. S. pennies between 1962-1982 are the ones that work.
More nickel than copper???
I couldn't do that as all my fry tanks have red ramshorn snails as cleanup crews
Quote from: ilroost on September 01, 2013, 06:27:08 PM
I couldn't do that as all my fry tanks have red ramshorn snails as cleanup crews
LOL..want some more????...got plenty, do a good job...but boy can they multiply...
I don't know, but the guy was reliable. I think that he said that any penny before 1964 would work eccept for the pennys that were produced befor the war when copper became more valuable than it is now.
I know alot of people don't like snails, but they don't really bother me. Heck i kinda like them.
I do not know a thing about pennye's.
I am yousing Belgium 0.5 old Belgium Franks. From before the Euro, even before '90.
My fish seem ok so far and the nylonstocking is hidden at the back of my filter.
I don't know your money either, but it seems to me that I bag full of copper coins would put way too much copper and god knows what else in the water. But I have never done it and you have so who am I to say?
This is our penny Butterfly. 100 of these add up to 1 US dollar. If your Lincoln Memorial penny has a date before 1982, it is made of 95% copper. If the date is 1983 or later, it is made of 97.5% zinc and plated with a thin copper coating.
(http://newpenny.net/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/2009-Penny-Revese-Presidency-in-DC-Reverse-.jpg)
Back when I kept freshwater dwarf shrimp it was said that some of them are so sensitive to copper that a single penny placed in the tank would kill them. They are also very sensitive to heat..... that's how I lost most of mine.
Dennis
Please 'spalin me this, I used one penny per 50 gallons. I never saw a copepod again. Will a bagful of pennies not infuse the water with too many metals?
I guess the question would be, "too much for what?"
If 1 penny adds one part per gazillion, 50 would add 50 parts per gazillion..... still a very tiny amount. ;)
Dennis
OK. I know that you know more than I do. I still would not do it. It would make me feel creepy. But I fly by the seat of my pants, I am not logical
Quote from: LizStreithorst on September 02, 2013, 06:12:44 PM
...But I fly by the seat of my pants, I am not logical
One of your endearing qualities Liz. I wouldn't do it either. I don't like to put much of anything that's not organic into my tanks. It's bad enough that I use polyvinyl chloride, vinyl, silicone, and polyether polyurethane in my tank filtration.
Dennis
Agreement. And it came from opposite poles. Imagine that?
Quote from: LizStreithorst on September 02, 2013, 06:12:44 PM
I know that you know more than I do.
I doubt that that is true. We just know different things. ;)
Dennis
We had a problem do to copper pipes in a new building once with a zebrafish facility I was involved in and got a fish vet involved to help fix things.
It turns out that copper and zinc are both toxic.
Their toxicity varies with the hardness of the water. In harder water these metals are less toxic and in softer water they are more toxic.
Copper and zinc will dissolve faster in soft water than in hard water.
I think they might dissolve faster in acidic water, but I am not sure about that.
Our water here is pretty soft. One of our attempts to remove the copper was to use a water softener. This removed some of the copper but more of the other hardness ions. At these reduced hardness levels, our zebrafish (which I'm guessing are not the most sensitive of fish) were sensitive to copper at below one part per billion.
The only penny that i have is a lucky penny from 1983 (my birthday).
My godfather has given it to my when i had my last high-school test. I keep it with my driving-licence.
I have don somme more lucking up and i have taken the coints out, i allways have been told that it was copper but it is bronze.
I have found on an a dutch site the same advice : put a copper wire in your thank, on your own risk, watch your fish
and an outher tric: a cup of normal thee ( i woold go for black or green thee) per 100L a week. ( a cup = 150 or 250 ml or 200 ml = 0.40 gallen or 0.55 gallon or 0.53 gallon for 26.5 gallen) On cup is not a standerd measurement here.
thanks
The tea would add tannins. That's an interesting idea. I have used peat moss with success.
Some of the wild scalare and altum people on finarama have posted about various teas they add to their tanks.
Quote from: PaulineMi on September 03, 2013, 06:55:13 PM
Some of the wild scalare and altum people on finarama have posted about various teas they add to their tanks.
Doesn't the caffeine bother them???
Mugwump: i had not be thinking about that.
I have found a website that gives tips about tea and caffiene : http://coffeetea.about.com/od/caffeinehealth/a/Factors-Influencing-Caffeine-Levels-In-Tea.htm (http://coffeetea.about.com/od/caffeinehealth/a/Factors-Influencing-Caffeine-Levels-In-Tea.htm)
I have found that how hotter the water and how longer you leave it standig how higher the caffiene. So you can make the tea with cold water for a short time.
I am thinking to give it a go.
If I were you, and I'm not you, if I wanted to lower the water hardness I would put a media bag of peat either in the tank of in your water storage container. Peat will do a better job than tea and will be less expensive.
I would collect some rain water and dilute the hard tap with that. My Ohio water has never responded to adding peat or any other soften agents for that matter..... just too much buffering.
Dennis
Quote from: BallAquatics on September 04, 2013, 03:45:58 PM
I would collect some rain water and dilute the hard tap with that. My Ohio water has never responded to adding peat or any other soften agents for that matter..... just too much buffering.
Dennis
I will depend on her water parameters, I guess. My kH is only 4.5., gH 0, pH 7.2 or 7.4 (I can't remember which) Peat lowered it enough that I had fry hatch out. Since then I have had two spawns hatch in straight aged tap, but they were both small spawns. I use RO for breeding now.
I can see no reason to alter water parameters other than for breeding. If you don't want to breed, stability is the key to healthy fish, IMO. Add nothing unless there is a good reason.
Quote from: LizStreithorst on September 04, 2013, 04:04:10 PM
... If you don't want to breed, stability is the key to healthy fish, IMO. Add nothing unless there is a good reason.
I completely agree Liz. You are also correct about the hardness of the water having lots to do with the effectiveness of peat. My gH is > 25 and peat has no effect on the well water. On the other hand, If I put 4 or 5 oak leaves into a bucket of rain water, I get the nicest "black water extract" you would ever want to see.
Dennis