Cupramine question

[DrewBrees713]

Can i add Cupramine in my DT tank and remove it with carbon then later down the road add corals? Right now my tank only has LR and one fish and pods but no inverts or corals.

 

[melypr1985]

I wouldn't risk it. Besides, the live rock and sand will absorb the copper and release it again later making it very difficult to treat your one fish without having the copper levels go up and down bringing it below therapeutic levels and then higher than the fish might be able to handle. I'd advise taking the fish out and into QT for treatment. Better safe than sorry.

 

[DrewBrees713]

I know but i cant get the fish out becuase i have tons of LR. Their website said to use Cupramine for 14 days to kill ich and velvet and remove copper use CupriSorb. Just wondering if that has any merits.

 

[melypr1985]

I know but i cant get the fish out becuase i have tons of LR. Their website said to use Cupramine for 14 days to kill ich and velvet and remove copper use CupriSorb. Just wondering if that has any merits.

Ideally, if you were to only use it for 14 days, then you would have to KNOW that it was at therapeutic levels the entire 14 days then you would transfer the fish to a new sterile tank for observation. without that second step, you would want to treat for 30 days. If the therepeutic level drops below .3ppm then your clock starts over. If you have all that live rock in your tank, I can promise you'll have trouble keeping the therapeutic levels right since that rock will absorb the copper continuously then start leaching it back out. The levels will dip and jump and dip and jump and the whole time you'll be adding more to keep it up. It's not worth the risk, expense or headache.

You dont' have corals right? It's way easier for you to take the rock out and net the fish for QT than it would be if you had a full blown reef going. I can only offer advice and that's mine.

 

[Scarybo]

The rocks and sand will absorb the copper. It will destroy its biological filter bacteria. There is no way to remove all the copper. That's why QT are bare.

 

[melypr1985]

It will destroy its biological filter bacteria.

Actually, it won't destroy all the bacteria. It will put a dent in it, but they usually bounce back just fine. The rest is spot on. :)

 

[DrewBrees713]

I was hoping to treat the tank with cupramine intead of having to take out the fish and leave the DT fallow for 2-3 months :(

 

[melypr1985]

I was hoping to treat the tank with cupramine intead of having to take out the fish and leave the DT fallow for 2-3 months :(

I understand, but I can only strongly recommend you don't do that.

 

[Humblefish]

^^I'd listen to all the advice given above. Trying to get all the copper out of a DT with rock & sand is a slow, tedious process.