A few Chloroquine Phosphate questions

solitude127 · Dec 15, 2017

Just a few of questions about Chloroquine Phosphate
1) How can you remove Chloroquine Phosphate from a QT system? With GAC, huge w/c, skimmer?
2) Does a skimmer affect the effectiveness of Chloroquine Phosphate?
3) Does Live Rock and Live Sand affect the effectiveness of Chloroquine Phosphate?
4) Over time, does the effectiveness of Chloroquine Phosphate decrease? For example, if my QT tank is fishless for 2 months and I kept the system running, if I'm ready to QT another fish, do I have dose the recommended amount Chloroquine Phosphate?

TIA

Crabs McJones · Dec 15, 2017

@Randy Holmes-Farley

Maritimer · Dec 15, 2017

I've never worked with it, but @Humblefish has - often.

I believe that its effectiveness does drop over time, as the biofilm in the tank can consume it. If Humble tells you _anything_ different, listen to him, not me!

~Bruce

solitude127 · Dec 16, 2017

Bump..

GoldeneyeRet · Dec 17, 2017

I have used cp but I am definitely NOT an expert. I only use CP in a temporary QT with no rock or sand.

1. Cp can be removed with 100 % water change or carbon

2. I do not know if a skimmer affects CP.

3. Yes, live rock and sand seems to render CP ineffective.

4. Whether CP degrades over time, or how it does is unclear. There is no test available to hobbyists to test it so to be effective you must restart the hospital tank as a clean slate for each batch of fish.

KMench · Dec 17, 2017

CP degrades with light exposure. It is recommended to remove all possible CP with either a water change or carbon and then re-dose before beginning another round of QT to ensure you have an accurate dose in the tank. @Maritimer is correct that a quarantine tank with an established bio filter may be able to break down the medication to a certain degree. The only problem as a hobbiest user is there is no way for you to readily determine the concentration in your tank...

unless you have a spectrophotometer