I understand that Cupramine kills all invertabrates on Live Rock, but does it kill the beneficial bacteria..... thus leaving it dead? On the bottle it says it may "retard" bacteria populations during treatment, but it will bounce back once removed through water changes, carbon, or Cuprazorb. It also claims that it will not be absorbed into the glass, live rock, or sand bed. This is an aquarium that will house one trigger fish.
Will Cupramine Kill the Bacteria in Live Rock?
- Thread starter sportyrox
- Start date
jjk_reef00
New member
I would think the rock would absorb some of the medication. I would use a qt with no live rock, and no sand that way you know the dose of copper is consistent and none is absorbed. The downside is you need to do frequent water changes to keep water quality high.
Recty
New member
No, it won't kill your bacteria off, at least not all of it. I've treated my tank with cupramine twice, the first time due to snail die off I had a little ammonia problems, the second time I had no problems at all with water quality. I'm sure if the bacteria had died off I would have been seeing lots of ammonia within just a day or two.
customdusty
New member
I'm also interested in this topic. Treating fish in a FOWLR tank???
Recty
New member
If you want a long read with a lot of pictures... go through my thread.
http://mail.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1622958
I think I treated my FOWLR twice during the duration of that thread.
MrTuskfish
Team RC
Treating a tank with substrate and LR is iffy at best. Its time to break down and get a QT. However, Cupramine will not destroy your bio-filter. Here's some vital info on Cupramine, the FAQ are vital. http://www.seachem.com/Products/product_pages/Cupramine.html
hogfanreefer
Active member
I run a cycled QT (ceramic media) with no LR and cupramine has never caused me a problem with biofiltration so far. After I complete a QT session I do a 100% water change and add some ammonia and every time so far it tests negative in 24 hours.
