Copper Power Absorbtion?

[Trevorbaker96]

I am currently housing a few fish in my 55 gallon QT. It has 40 gallons of water in it & is being ran through a FX4 Canister filter with ONLY ( ) being used for filtration. The original outer foam that comes with the Fluval FX4 & 6. I am dosing Copper Power accordingly and it is hardly raising level. From .54 it raised to .75 with one fluid ounce. Am I missing something .... ?

 

[Saltyreef]

It takes .14ML to raise the concentration of 1 gallon to .25ppm.
1 fluid oz is 30ml.....
Seems like a lot for 40 gallons of water. Are you sure the filter inline isnt poly?

 

[Trevorbaker96]

It takes .14ML to raise the concentration of 1 gallon to .25ppm.
1 fluid oz is 30ml.....
Seems like a lot for 40 gallons of water. Are you sure the filter inline isnt poly?

As far as I’m concerned ? I haven’t taken it out because it’s all I have for filter media now & for biological. But could it be soaking it up that much? I’ve done as much research I can on the foam.

 

[Saltyreef]

Is the tank bare glass with plastic or pvc hiding places? Substrate will absorb copper. Liverock and sand....
I use a foam insert with a HOB aquaclear filter during Copper Power treatment and have never had that issue. The only time the concentration will change is with evaporation. What are you using to test with and what are you using to measure how much you input?

 

[Trevorbaker96]

It takes .14ML to raise the concentration of 1 gallon to .25ppm.
1 fluid oz is 30ml.....
Seems like a lot for 40 gallons of water. Are you sure the filter inline isnt poly?

 

[Trevorbaker96]

Is the tank bare glass with plastic or pvc hiding places? Substrate will absorb copper. Liverock and sand....
I use a foam insert with a HOB aquaclear filter during Copper Power treatment and have never had that issue. The only time the concentration will change is with evaporation. What are you using to test with and what are you using to measure how much you input?

All PVC & bare glass tank. No sand , live rock ect.
Use a measured out ONE OUNCE shot glass or measured in measured out ML. Using a HACH Colorimeter & reagents to test copper level. Digital.

 

[Saltyreef]

Hmmm. I use a hach meter at work so i know its quality....and no substrate....hmm. so do this to negate your copper power being the issue.....

Establish your baseline .75ppm again so you know its an accurate number...
Then by using the calculations ive given....
Add 5.6mL to the 40 gallons of water (if its truely an accurate amount of water)
It should raise the copper concentration in your water to 1.0ppm. If it doesnt...then your copper power may be diluted or old, or you have more than 40 gallons of water in your tank.

 

[Trevorbaker96]

Hmmm. I use a hach meter at work so i know its quality....and no substrate....hmm. so do this to negate your copper power being the issue.....

Establish your baseline .75ppm again so you know its an accurate number...
Then by using the calculations ive given....
Add 5.6mL to the 40 gallons of water (if its truely an accurate amount of water)
It should raise the copper concentration in your water to 1.0ppm. If it doesnt...then your copper power may be diluted or old, or you have more than 40 gallons of water in your tank.

I measured out 40 gallons. I’m going to test the copper alone... it has to be off or the filter is absorbing it .

 

[Saltyreef]

Agreed. I always pre measure the alotted amount first then test once to make sure that amount raised the waters concentration to whats expected and to validate the bottle not being expired. After that i dont test even when i get to my peak concentration to save that expensive reagent lol.

 

[Trevorbaker96]

Agreed. I always pre measure the alotted amount first then test once to make sure that amount raised the waters concentration to whats expected and to validate the bottle not being expired. After that i dont test even when i get to my peak concentration to save that expensive reagent lol.

Tested with 5 gallon buckets of salt water. First bottle 7.39 ml / 5 gallons = 1.11
Second bottle 7.39 ml / 5 gallons = .97
Could this whole batch of Copper Power from my LFS have lost its concentration?! Says it doesn’t expire till 2025.

 

[Saltyreef]

Tested with 5 gallon buckets of salt water. First bottle 7.39 ml / 5 gallons = 1.11
Second bottle 7.39 ml / 5 gallons = .97
Could this whole batch of Copper Power from my LFS have lost its concentration?! Says it doesn’t expire till 2025.

Possibly....it should only take around 3ml to make 5 gallons of salt water have 1ppm concentration of copper. My meter is a hanna though.
I noticed on the hach chlorine colorimeter i use at work, the test tube needs to be cleaned if you leave the colored reagent mix in the vial for too long. Makes a purple haze around the bottom and its not easy to come off.