Reusing media in DT after QT with copper

[Ziggy17]

So finally my QT period is over and the new fish are in the DT.

My question is, can I put the media bag filled with ceramic rings and sponge filter that was used in the 10g QT back into my 150 DT sump to reseed for the next go.

I used copper and prazi, and kept the copper in the 2.4 range. However when I began the prazi I did multiple water changes and got the copper down to 0.01 before doing the 3 week prazi treatment. The QT has been unused for almost a week now, and my copper reading in the QT remains at 0.01 as per my Hanna. So based on that, does this mean that it’s safe to put the sponge and the bio media into a 150g system? I can’t imaging 0.01 copper in a 10g QT would translate into a harmful amount in a 150g.

Thoughts?

 

[vetteguy53081]

So finally my QT period is over and the new fish are in the DT.

My question is, can I put the media bag filled with ceramic rings and sponge filter that was used in the 10g QT back into my 150 DT sump to reseed for the next go.

I used copper and prazi, and kept the copper in the 2.4 range. However when I began the prazi I did multiple water changes and got the copper down to 0.01 before doing the 3 week prazi treatment. The QT has been unused for almost a week now, and my copper reading in the QT remains at 0.01 as per my Hanna. So based on that, does this mean that it’s safe to put the sponge and the bio media into a 150g system? I can’t imaging 0.01 copper in a 10g QT would translate into a harmful amount in a 150g.

Thoughts?

Rinse it well to assure no parasites are within. If it were my tank, I would change it out

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

So finally my QT period is over and the new fish are in the DT.

My question is, can I put the media bag filled with ceramic rings and sponge filter that was used in the 10g QT back into my 150 DT sump to reseed for the next go.

I used copper and prazi, and kept the copper in the 2.4 range. However when I began the prazi I did multiple water changes and got the copper down to 0.01 before doing the 3 week prazi treatment. The QT has been unused for almost a week now, and my copper reading in the QT remains at 0.01 as per my Hanna. So based on that, does this mean that it’s safe to put the sponge and the bio media into a 150g system? I can’t imaging 0.01 copper in a 10g QT would translate into a harmful amount in a 150g.

Thoughts?

Ceramic is inert to copper, plastic sponge is also. If you rinse it well in seawater you can put it back in your sump. Peopkk k e worry this could transfer disease, but I presume you already moved fish from the QT to the DT? If so, moving the media install less risky than moving the fish themselves.

 

[xzt]

Ceramic is inert to copper, plastic sponge is also. If you rinse it well in seawater you can put it back in your sump. Peopkk k e worry this could transfer disease, but I presume you already moved fish from the QT to the DT? If so, moving the media install less risky than moving the fish themselves.

I conducted a concentration monitoring experiment by placing ceramic ring filter media equivalent to 10% of the water volume in 0.5ppm Cupramine. After the experiment, I performed a 100% water change and started the water pump for circulation. Three days later, the copper concentration in the water rose to 0.05ppm. I then performed another 100% water change, but five days later, the copper concentration still increased to 0.08ppm. Therefore, I believe that ceramic rings can adsorb copper and subsequently release it back into the water when the copper concentration decreases. It's just that the adsorption capacity of ceramic rings is somewhat inferior to that of coral bone.

 

[slingfox]

So finally my QT period is over and the new fish are in the DT.

My question is, can I put the media bag filled with ceramic rings and sponge filter that was used in the 10g QT back into my 150 DT sump to reseed for the next go.

I used copper and prazi, and kept the copper in the 2.4 range. However when I began the prazi I did multiple water changes and got the copper down to 0.01 before doing the 3 week prazi treatment. The QT has been unused for almost a week now, and my copper reading in the QT remains at 0.01 as per my Hanna. So based on that, does this mean that it’s safe to put the sponge and the bio media into a 150g system? I can’t imaging 0.01 copper in a 10g QT would translate into a harmful amount in a 150g.

Thoughts?

I have a set of biomedia and sponge which I use for QT. When the QT tanks are not running I have that media/sponge sitting in a bucket with saltwater. Seems to work well to get a QT cycled when I need it.

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

I conducted a concentration monitoring experiment by placing ceramic ring filter media equivalent to 10% of the water volume in 0.5ppm Cupramine. After the experiment, I performed a 100% water change and started the water pump for circulation. Three days later, the copper concentration in the water rose to 0.05ppm. I then performed another 100% water change, but five days later, the copper concentration still increased to 0.08ppm. Therefore, I believe that ceramic rings can adsorb copper and subsequently release it back into the water when the copper concentration decreases. It's just that the adsorption capacity of ceramic rings is somewhat inferior to that of coral bone.

I conducted a concentration monitoring experiment by placing ceramic ring filter media equivalent to 10% of the water volume in 0.5ppm Cupramine. After the experiment, I performed a 100% water change and started the water pump for circulation. Three days later, the copper concentration in the water rose to 0.05ppm. I then performed another 100% water change, but five days later, the copper concentration still increased to 0.08ppm. Therefore, I believe that ceramic rings can adsorb copper and subsequently release it back into the water when the copper concentration decreases. It's just that the adsorption capacity of ceramic rings is somewhat inferior to that of coral bone.

Ceramics don’t absorb copper from aquarium water - not like calcareous materials do.

However, some ceramic products have very deep pores. That needs to be rinsed/soaked out (seawater can be used since you are preserving the bacteria). Biofilms can also trap copper (more like adsorption) However, the amount of copper trapped in these situations is no higher than the original copper dose was, and the water volume is tiny. Absorbed copper is different - calcium material can concentrate it higher than dosed, and then be released later. I’ve seen rock that when broken, was blue inside from decades of copper treatments at a public aquarium.

 

[Ziggy17]

Ceramics don’t absorb copper from aquarium water - not like calcareous materials do.

However, some ceramic products have very deep pores. That needs to be rinsed/soaked out (seawater can be used since you are preserving the bacteria). Biofilms can also trap copper (more like adsorption) However, the amount of copper trapped in these situations is no higher than the original copper dose was, and the water volume is tiny. Absorbed copper is different - calcium material can concentrate it higher than dosed, and then be released later. I’ve seen rock that when broken, was blue inside from decades of copper treatments at a public aquarium.

Thanks for clearing that up Jay.

 

[xzt]

Ceramics don’t absorb copper from aquarium water - not like calcareous materials do.

However, some ceramic products have very deep pores. That needs to be rinsed/soaked out (seawater can be used since you are preserving the bacteria). Biofilms can also trap copper (more like adsorption) However, the amount of copper trapped in these situations is no higher than the original copper dose was, and the water volume is tiny. Absorbed copper is different - calcium material can concentrate it higher than dosed, and then be released later. I’ve seen rock that when broken, was blue inside from decades of copper treatments at a public aquarium.

You're right. The ceramic rings I used weren't brand new, so there must have been biofilm present in the pores. During the first three days after adding the ceramic rings, the copper concentration in the test water showed a significant decrease. By continuously supplementing Cupramine to maintain 0.5 ppm over those three days, the copper concentration finally stabilized starting on the fourth day. Throughout this process, the total decrease in copper concentration was 0.56 ppm.I may need to redesign the experiment using completely new ceramic rings to determine whether the decrease in copper concentration was due to the biofilm or the filter media itself. But after the experiment, even after rinsing the filter media and placing it in fresh water, copper continued to be released into the water.