Copper level in quarantine tank

[Hypen2000]

Sub Topic: Understanding the Seachem Copper test

Hey guys, I'm quarantining 3 new fish (1 tang, 2 wrasses). Over 3 days I brought added the recommended dosage of Coppersafe (fritz mardel). Then I tested it with the Seachem Copper test.

Question 1: I think the test reads "0.7". However, the packaging says this is in "mg/L". Is that the same as "ppm"?
Question 2: Is this the right copper level? Or should I be shooting for something else? I've seen everything from 2.5ppm to 0.2-0.3 ppm, so I'm confused.

Thanks!

 

[Jekyl]

Current Quarantine Protocol

2023 Quarantine Procedures Jay Hemdal David Scarborough Protozoans (Cryptocaryon/ich, Amyloodinium/velvet) and Metazoan trematodes/flukes are by far the most common parasites found on newly acquired fish. A carefully managed quarantine process can effectively eliminate these parasites before...

www.reef2reef.com

 

[Hypen2000]

Current Quarantine Protocol

2023 Quarantine Procedures Jay Hemdal David Scarborough Protozoans (Cryptocaryon/ich, Amyloodinium/velvet) and Metazoan trematodes/flukes are by far the most common parasites found on newly acquired fish. A carefully managed quarantine process can effectively eliminate these parasites before...

www.reef2reef.com

That's a great article, but doesn't answer my first question about the test kit reading. Seachem range is 0.0-1.0 mg/L. Seems odd if I am supposed to shoot for 2.5ppm. So I need the right conversion from mg/L to ppm. Thx

 

[Jekyl]

That's a great article, but doesn't answer my first question about the test kit reading. Seachem range is 0.0-1.0 mg/L. Seems odd if I am supposed to shoot for 2.5ppm. So I need the right conversion from mg/L to ppm. Thx

Just helping where I can. I don't do quarantine.

 

[mjh712]

Depends on the copper you're using. (which I'd recommend researching depending on the fish you have in quarantine) I think some of the values went up recently, but here's a good thread.

Copper treatment

Copper treatment What It Treats – Marine Ich (Cryptocaryon irritans) and Marine Velvet Disease (Amyloodinium ocellatum). There is some anecdotal evidence that copper will suppress symptoms of Brooklynella hostilis and Uronema marinum; however it is unlikely to completely eradicate either. How...

www.reef2reef.com

Fritz's Coppersafe website says;

Only one dose is needed to achieve the therapeutic level of 1.5 - 2.0 ppm copper. No second dose is needed during treatment.

I'd recommend upping the level slowly. There are calculators available to measure how much to add a time. (I did twice a day for 6 days). You're basically upping the fishes tolerance to poison over time.

 

[Gtinnel]

For cupramine it reccomends keeping the copper at .5mg/L but from what I remember copper power and coppersafe are considerably higher.

I looked up the conversion to go from mg/L to ppm and from what I saw they are essentially the same thing. I did 2.5 ppm and the mg/L was only different by .0045. I'm guessing that means that you won't be able to use the seachem copper test for coppersafe probably.

Keep in mind that I am new to using copper and have just started adding it to my qt. I went with cupramine though, so I can use the seachem test. Now if only I could distinguish the slightest difference in the shades of blue.

 

[Hypen2000]

Depends on the copper you're using. (which I'd recommend researching depending on the fish you have in quarantine) I think some of the values went up recently, but here's a good thread.

Copper treatment

Copper treatment What It Treats – Marine Ich (Cryptocaryon irritans) and Marine Velvet Disease (Amyloodinium ocellatum). There is some anecdotal evidence that copper will suppress symptoms of Brooklynella hostilis and Uronema marinum; however it is unlikely to completely eradicate either. How...

www.reef2reef.com

Fritz's Coppersafe website says;


I'd recommend upping the level slowly. There are calculators available to measure how much to add a time. (I did twice a day for 6 days). You're basically upping the fishes tolerance to poison over time.

This is a great article and very helpful comparison of the different copper treatments. Thanks! I think I will get the API test kit as that is what works with coppersafe. Another option that Seachem says is to dilute the tank water with distilled water. 1 part tank 1 part distilled water and multiply the number by 2 afterwards. But regardless, the Seachem test is too difficult to read.

 

[Hypen2000]

For cupramine it reccomends keeping the copper at .5mg/L but from what I remember copper power and coppersafe are considerably higher.

I looked up the conversion to go from mg/L to ppm and from what I saw they are essentially the same thing. I did 2.5 ppm and the mg/L was only different by .0045. I'm guessing that means that you won't be able to use the seachem copper test for coppersafe probably.

Keep in mind that I am new to using copper and have just started adding it to my qt. I went with cupramine though, so I can use the seachem test. Now if only I could distinguish the slightest difference in the shades of blue.

You might be new to using copper but what you said makes sense to the articles I'm reading. Thanks!

 

[Gtinnel]

This is a great article and very helpful comparison of the different copper treatments. Thanks! I think I will get the API test kit as that is what works with coppersafe. Another option that Seachem says is to dilute the tank water with distilled water. 1 part tank 1 part distilled water and multiply the number by 2 afterwards. But regardless, the Seachem test is too difficult to read.

I agree the seachem test is horrible to read. I wish I would've just paid the extra money to get the Hanna, and I'm considering still getting the Hanna checker. I can't tell a difference in the shades of blue at all. My daughter claims she can so hopefully she doesn't cause me to overdose and kill my purple tang.

 

[atul176]

I agree the seachem test is horrible to read. I wish I would've just paid the extra money to get the Hanna, and I'm considering still getting the Hanna checker. I can't tell a difference in the shades of blue at all. My daughter claims she can so hopefully she doesn't cause me to overdose and kill my purple tang.

This usually works for me, but here’s a suggestion that I think would be helpful. If you’re reading a color chart, put one drop of the copper water on the white part, and keep it flat under bright light, preferably the sun. You can clearly differentiate between shades then. I can’t read colors through a vial for my life.

 

[Gtinnel]

This usually works for me, but here’s a suggestion that I think would be helpful. If you’re reading a color chart, put one drop of the copper water on the white part, and keep it flat under bright light, preferably the sun. You can clearly differentiate between shades then. I can’t read colors through a vial for my life.

Does using a single drop not change how much liquid you are looking through and change the shade? Also for the seachem copper test it gets tested in a little white tray and not in vial like most test kits.

 

[atul176]

Does using a single drop not change how much liquid you are looking through and change the shade? Also for the seachem copper test it gets tested in a little white tray and not in vial like most test kits.

As for the changing of shade, I don’t believe so, as the water to solution ratio should be more or less the same unless it was mixed with pure tank water. If there is a chance I am doing it inaccurately, you can measure the amount of similar sized drops in conjunction with how many ml used, then divide the value, but it has never been a problem for me, as I cross checked with the Hannah colorimeter. I’m not familiar with the seachem kit, but I have had success with this method using the API copper kit and salifert phosphates, which are very difficult to read through a vial.

 

[threebuoys]

The color shade will vary based on the amount of water the light penetrates. More water means more light reflected, less water means more light completely penetrates the water. A good example is the Salifert test kit for nitrates. For low nitrate values, the instructions suggest looking through the side of the test vial instead of through the top, then dividing the chart value by 10. Why? Because the distance across the vial is 10 times wider than the depth of the water.

For copper, I abandoned the seachem test and bought a Hanna kit. More expensive, but much more reliable

 

[Gtinnel]

The color shade will vary based on the amount of water the light penetrates. More water means more light reflected, less water means more light completely penetrates the water. A good example is the Salifert test kit for nitrates. For low nitrate values, the instructions suggest looking through the side of the test vial instead of through the top, then dividing the chart value by 10. Why? Because the distance across the vial is 10 times wider than the depth of the water.

For copper, I abandoned the seachem test and bought a Hanna kit. More expensive, but much more reliable

That was what I was assuming.