Sweating copper pipes-bad or no big deal

[drtango]

It's been warm in Sunny Buffalo but the water is still about 40, so pipes are sweating in the basement. Just noticed that the cold water pipe above my sump is green and dripping.

Could enough copper leach from the pipe in this situation to matter? I've since insulated the pipe.

Thanks
John

[Dman]

drtango,
You definatley do not want that stuff dripping into your tanks. I never much worried about it until one day I noticed where the water had been dropping onto the basement floor was green, that meant copper which meant trouble.
Dman

[RustySnail]

And if I recall Randy has stated that copper levels can be very low (below the detectable range on a standard testkit), but still cause problems in a reef tank.

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

Randy has stated that copper levels can be very low (below the detectable range on a standard testkit), but still cause problems in a reef tank.

Yes, they can. I'd keep the drips out of the tank.

[drtango]

Thanks Randy! I figured that was smart, but wonder if Cu levels could approach toxic from such a situation that likely is not all that uncommon. Maybe relates to some of those "cant keep anything alive" threads....

Most of our supply lines are copper, and that's not an issue--is it the "green" that's bad?

John

[Member No. 1]

Originally posted by drtango
Thanks Randy! I figured that was smart, but wonder if Cu levels could approach toxic from such a situation that likely is not all that uncommon. Maybe relates to some of those "cant keep anything alive" threads....

Most of our supply lines are copper, and that's not an issue--is it the "green" that's bad?

John

But after the water goes thru your copper pipes, does it not go thru your RO/Di to take any copper out?

[jfinch]

Condensed moisture on the exterior of the pipe is likely to be more corrosive then the tap water flowing inside.

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

Most of our supply lines are copper, and that's not an issue--is it the "green" that's bad?

FWIW, I do not recommend using tap water because it often has way more copper in it than is suitable for a reef aquarium. This article describes that concern:

Tap Water in Reef Aquaria
http://www.advancedaquarist.com/issues/jan2004/chem.htm

[Muttling]

Haven't been buy in a while, but this seemed as good a place as any to say HI and throw in my $0.02 worth (while noting that you're probably paying too much for it.)

I agree with all the above and just thought I'd mention that it's super easy to fix. Buy some foam prefab pipe insulation from Home Depot or Lowes and insulate the pipes above your sump. The condensate won't form on the section of pipes that have been insulated. You'll likely need to use a little duct tape to snug up the insulation (the adhesive that comes on it is pretty crappy.)