New Tank, Copper test?

[Jon Fishman]

Now that I have read a bit, the realization that I don't know if the tank I bought used, with live-rock, was ever dosed with copper or not. He had no inverts or other fish in it by the time I got it (sold off the fish) and everything has lived just fine with the exception of one crab that died (outside of it's shell) and I have another that I'm not too sure about..... Last I checked, the rest were doing just fine.

If I test the water for copper, will it tell me if toxic levels are being released by the rocks (if the tank was ever dosed with copper) or is there "no real way of knowing"

If the tank, with rocks, were in fact dosed with copper at one point in time, will the copper end up at a safe level given time and water changes?

 

[EmdeReef]

I would get the Hanna checker, let the tank run for a week or at least a few days and then test to see.

If there is copper in rocks it may take a while to get all of it out but it’s probably possible. Depending on the concentration a combination of water changes, polyfilter, cuprisorb and metasorb would work.

 

[Jon Fishman]

I would get the Hanna checker, let the tank run for a week or at least a few days and then test to see.

If there is copper in rocks it may take a while to get all of it out but it’s probably possible. Depending on the concentration a combination of water changes, polyfilter, cuprisorb and metasorb would work.

O.K. so not knowing what a "Hanna Checker" was, I did the only sensible thing, and threw it into the Amazon search-bar, and it pulls up testers for all sorts of things..... Should I get one for Copper, Nitrate, Calcium, Phos, Alkaline, etc. etc.... at $70 a pop, it seems like a spendy way to test my water. Is there an "all in one" tester out there?

Also, if the trace amounts are in the substrate (given the fact that I've done a big 70% water change, plus another already) which is the concern..... will a water test accurately tell me how safe it is?

 

[Wheeljack]

Don't buy them off Amazon if you decide to. They should only cost about 50$. Check Marine Depot or Bulk Reef Supply. Part of the appeal of Hanna, though, is the ease of use. It's a big up front cost, but it more than makes up for it with the time and frustration you save. I plan on getting about 4 or 5 of them but there are other cheaper alternatives. You could just get the copper one if cost is an issue and if you ever need to dose copper in a hospital/quarantine tank, it'll be indispensible.

And as far as I'm aware there is no all in one. Each test uses different reagents which would be hard to fit in one test that isn't a test strip ( and those are notoriously inaccurate). I would throw all my money at an accurate one click, all in one tester!