Will LR decrease effectiveness of Coppersafe

[Lithy]

I finally went out and got a small 14g to set up as a QT for my 2 blue tangs that have ich pretty bad. I have made the investment managed to remove them from the DT and I intend to heal these guys, QT new fish and set myself on an ich-free path...

Now, the QT is bare with no substrate and LFS guy said to just add a couple of pieces of LR for hiding (which they do a lot). I did just that but someone on this forum suggested this may absorb the medication thereby reducing its effectiveness. Is this true?

Also I am confused on how to test for it? The Mardel Coppersafe medication I am using is chelated copper and supposedly delivers a stabilized "total copper level" of 1.5 to 2.0 ppm. However my reference book speaks of 0.02 to 0.03 ppm of copper as therapy for parasites. Is the discrepancy due to the "chelated" copper? If I were to test for copper what should my range be?

 

[TerryB]

Yes, rock or substrate in the tank does interfere with copper treatment. Use PVC pipe for hiding places. Will you keep a cycled Qtank upand running at all times? If you must use copper then forget about Coppersafe and use Cupramine by Seachem instead. Safer and more effective. Test the copper level twice a day and add as needed. However, not sure why you are using copper. Hyposalinity is a better way to go. Do you know what hypo is? You need a test kit compatible with Cupramine. Seachemor Red sea test kits work fine.

Terry B

 

[Lithy]

Yes TerryB-
I plan to keep my QT set up to quarantine all new fish until my DT is fully stocked. Then I may turn the QT into another small DT (but it will be a while).

I know about hypo, but it was suggested that it may not be as effective as copper.
Everybody seems to have a different opinion and the novice get confused
Can you educate me on why hypo is better than copper? What makes a Cupramine safer than other chelated copper medications?

Is this a reputable source for Hyposalinity info which I can follow?
http://www.petsforum.com/personal/trevor-jones/hyposalinity.html

Also, can I start Hypo now with copper in the tank by doing partial freshwater changes?

Thanks!

 

[Lithy]

Hello-
After quickly setting up my QT to rescue my two Blue Tangs from ich, the QT has been up about 8 days now. It's a BioCube 14. I followed TerryB's advice and after the initial Coppersafe dosing, I switched to hyposalinity and over 4 to 5 days went to 1.010. All parasites are gone from the fish and they seem rather happy and eat well.

Unfortunately the QT did not have time to cycle. I am thru with ammonia spike and managed to keep it low with water changes and adding a lot of AmQuel+ water conditioner. I am now having a hard time with nitrites between 2 to 5ppm (even after water changes and with some AmQuel+). I assumed that water changes are good to maintain the comfort of the fish and changed 10 to 25% of the water with hypo water daily.

Now the guy at the LFS told me not to change any water but just add bacteria for cycling. I am adding the bacteria but I am not convinced about letting the nitrite climb. What should I do? Like I said the fish seem happy but don't wanna push my luck with these guys...

 

[andrewsmart]

keep up with the water changes adding bacteria i find helps but the water changes are vital.

also you want to go to 1.09 ot better still get a refractometer and go to 14ppt.

remember to be careful to check ph daily and buffer as required

 

[Lithy]

thanks andrew-
will go to 1.09 (I have a refractometer so it's easy). But 24ppt is 1.011, actually MORE salt than is in there. Can You explain?
pH is 7.8 to 8.0 range. kH is 10-12. Do I need to do anything here?

 

[Lithy]

I meant 14ppt (not 24ppt) is actually higher salinity than my current level of 1.010. Shold I go up or down from where I am?

 

[TerryB]

It is unusual for the salinity to be below 14ppt when the Specific Gravity is at 1.010. What is the water temperature? Has the refractometer been calibrated using RO water? The salinity is what you should be measuriing not the SG. 14ppt saluinity should be fine. You do need to boost the alkalinity and keep the pH a little higher. Making water changes is a good idea, provided you are mixing and aerating the fresh saltwater for 24+ hours before you use it. You can use some Poly Filter by Poly Bio Marine to help control the ammonia and nitrite. Did you remove all the copper?

Terry B

 

[Lithy]

Hmmm my refractometer has both scales in it side by side and so I assumed that the two were just equivalent. on the refractometer scale 1.010 is 14 (regardless of calibration, since the scales are fixed). Does this assume a specific temperature? I did not calibrate the refractometer with RO water (I use tap) but it does read exactly 1.000 with tap water. The water temp is 80F. I assume the copper is all gone because of the multiple water changes.

I have not been allowing the water to sit 24h nor aerated. why is this important? air stone or can it just sit in a bucket with a lid?

kH: what would bea good value? can I use the partB of my calcium supplement? pH: shall I use a small amount of a Na2CO3 solution to raise the pH to 8.2 8.3?

Is Poly Filter a nitrifying bacteria additive or something that chemically eliminates ammonia and nitrite (like AmQuel+). Should I keep using either one of these two category of products (which I both already have)? Are brand to brand differences significant enough to buy a different kind of a similar product?

Thanks for your help!!!!

 

[thelostrican]

to mix the salt completly, and to aerate the water.....you could use a small powerhead..
dkh give or take 10 for me it works with corals, i dose kalk when doing hypo.
keep your ph stable at 8.2...

amquel+ is good, just keep doing water changes....good luck

 

[adimal]

the copper kills the live rock, it will now just be rock

 

[Doglover_50]

and to further give you good news on that live rock, if that live rock got copper, it should never be introduced back into your display tank or very bad things could happen.

 

[Lithy]

Yes I know. I decided to sacrifice this tiny piece (~1 pound) as the Tanks seem a bit more reluctant to hide inside the PVC tubing and prefer to go under the rock