Re: [Killietalk] copper leaching from new plumbing

[Wright Huntley <whuntley at verizon_net>]

Hi Mach. Long time no see!

Mach Fukada wrote:
> Aloha Everyone,
>     new house is almost done.  Working on the fish room.  Got a laundry tray 
> in the room, with hot and cold water.  Was wondering how long it will take 
> before the copper from the new pipes stops leaching.    Any ideas?  I know 
> it can be toxic to inverts, plants, etc and want to head off problems before 
> I get there.
>   
Generally it should not be a problem unless your tap water is quite 
acid. Copper is pretty insoluble in alkaline water, as I understand it. 
The metal skins over with an oxide very quickly, so a quick drain of the 
standing pipe water may be needed for a few days. After that, only reef 
systems may see a detectable effect. Copper is an essential trace 
nutrient for most biosystems, so is not toxic at low levels (except to 
some reef critters?).
> Also working on water filtration system for the room.  Chlorine and 
> cloramines are becoming more of a problem for me and seems the water 
> department "experiments" on us people all the time so it is not consistant.
This is normal, everywhere. They add no more than just what is needed to 
handle current bacterial counts. That varies with time of year and rain 
conditions as well as condition of the delivery pipes. Most tests in 
your water report are done only about every three years. The coliform 
bacteria test is a major exception, and it is usually done pretty 
frequently in most water districts.
>  
> Thinking about getting 2 filters with the activated carbon.  I recall wont 
> work for chloramines, is there a test for them?
>   
They do work for chloramines, but you must make the flow through the 
filters rather slow (trickle?), as neither chlorine nor chloramine have 
a very strong affinity for activated carbon. They "punch through" with 
faster flow. The key is to lengthen contact time and then they work 
perfectly on chlorine or chloramine. Test the outlet water to determine 
how fast you can run it without any leakage. Put the flow-restricting 
valve on the outlet, as I think line pressure tends to make them a bit 
more effective.

Put a tap between filters, and test there for saturation. When the first 
one shows some chlorine/chloramine leakage, replace with the second and 
put a new cartridge in the second container.

The test for chloramine is the same as for chlorine. Use a pool/spa 
chlorine test (not the identical one costing 7-10 times as much at the 
LFS). You can tell the difference between chlorine and chloramine by 
aerating strongly for a day. Chlorine is dissipated, so the reduction in 
reading the second day says how much was chlorine, and the remaining 
reading is how much is chloramine. The half-life of most dissolved 
chloramines is of the order of 5 weeks, so aeration does nothing to 
reduce them.

Wright

-- 
Wright Huntley - Rt. 001 Box K36, Bishop CA 93514 - whuntley at verizon_net  760 937-2276 (cell) 760 872-3995.

http://www.self-gov.org/wspq.html 

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