Running Carbon on a Chelated Copper QT tank?

Ocelaris

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So this is going to be the opposite of what you think it is. I am maintaining a 1.75ppm level of Copper Power, which is chelated copper for ich. However I am feeding heavily and would like to run copper to clean up the water. I am not trying to remove copper, just organics. My question is, does Carbon really remove all copper or some types? It would help me out a great deal with water quality if I could run Carbon some or part of the day. Even if I started with a slightly higher level of Cu in the water and knew I was going to pull out some, that would keep the fishes happier with better water quality. I'm fighting some skin irritation on a tang, so I'm trying anything to keep the copper up and improve water quality besides water changes which I'm already doing every few days (on top of a skimmer and sock).

Thanks!
 

EmdeReef

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Carbon will remove some of the copper regardless of the type.

You could try running a HOB with just the sponge and it would clear up the water without removing copper.
 
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Ocelaris

Ocelaris

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Thanks, I have like an entire 30 long sump filled with filter floss to handle the bio load, but it still gets dingy in there. I'm really looking to see if chelated is any more resistant to carbon. They mention a humblefish thread called "Chucks Picture Fish Disease Guide" but I can't seem to find any thread. They mention Chelated is less likely to be pulled out by carbon? If I can just run the carbon for a few hours a day to clean up the water a bit, test for copper after, that would be ideal. Just wondering if others saw a dramatic difference or if I could leave it running for a few hours without issue.

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/carbon-not-absorbing-cupramine.268214/
 

EmdeReef

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Carbon isn't the most efficient way for sure. I've found even cuprisorb not to produce "dramatic" results and is better at removing residual copper after doing large water changes. If you have a Hanna checker and don't mind testing a few times over the hours I guess you could try that. You don't want to drop below the therapeutic level for too long.
 
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Ocelaris

Ocelaris

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Yeah, I'll run some tests tomorrow, but I was surprised to see the same cu levels as I expected 1.75 after running copper for an hour or two. I'll just have to play around with it I guess and see how long I can run it without dropping out of therapeutic levels. Thanks!
 
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Ocelaris

Ocelaris

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So I've been toying with the length of time I've been running carbon, and basically I've seen no change in the levels of chelated copper (copper power). I am using BRS rox 0.8 and ran it a full 12 hours and saw zero change in copper levels, so basically I'm just going to keep using it unless I'm running meds. I check almost every day if I'm running carbon, so far no issues.
 

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