COPPER POWER

EASTERN INDIGO · Sep 2, 2020

I just started a brand new SW fish only system. Tank and sump 285 gallons, allowing for rocks and sand. I bought a variety of fish, including some wrasses and one puffer. My other tanks are one reef and one moray eel tank, and for these copper is out of the question. Up until now I used Cupramine for quarantine purposes. This being a new tank, I decided to just buy a large load of fish and put them in the new tank WITH copper and metronidazole. My thinking is that I have no intention of buying any more fish for this tank (yeah, right. Right? HaHaHa). Well, WHEN I DON'T buy any new fish for this tank, I can NOT quarantine them separately in the future. So, back to reality, one of the fish is a puffer and I am told that Power Saver is the correct type of copper for a puffer. So I have two questions, please.

First, the dosage on the bottle says 2.25. Cupramine is ZERO .25. Is the dosage on the bottle, .25, correct, and is that for therapeutic or preventive or both? I plan on leaving the copper in for six weeks to be as close to certain that it has done its job as possible; maybe even 72 days, which is the longest recorded survival time of any phase of ich that I have read.
Second, can I mix the Metronidazole with the Copper Saver?
Thank you all in advance.

Redfoxtang · Sep 2, 2020

You can safely mix Metro with Copper power. Therapeutic range for Copper power is 2.0ppm to 2.25ppm. You have a little bit more wiggle with copper power than you do Cupramine. CP is also less harsh on the fish as well.

Also if I’m reading this correctly your dosing your display tank with copper? If this is done some small amounts of copper can be absorbed through the sand and rock. If this happens you have to pay attention to the copper levels. I would also invest in a Hanna copper checker to keep levels therapeutic!

EASTERN INDIGO · Sep 2, 2020

Redfoxtang said:
You can safely mix Metro with Copper power. Therapeutic range for Copper power is 2.0ppm to 2.25ppm. You have a little bit more wiggle with copper power than you do Cupramine. CP is also less harsh on the fish as well.

Also if I’m reading this correctly your dosing your display tank with copper? If this is done some small amounts of copper can be absorbed through the sand and rock. If this happens you have to pay attention to the copper levels. I would also invest in a Hanna copper checker to keep levels therapeutic!

Thank you for this response. It is very concise and helpful. Yes, I plan on checking constantly using salifert test kit, but now that you mention it I will get a hanna as well. I'll keep you posted. Bought two beautiful Puffers (in case one croaks), and I hope Power is safe, as I have been advised. I also have been advised that if I use Metro with the copper I will no longer be able to read copper accurately. So that brings up this question: Should I start with copper alone and just watch the fish closely for any bacterial infection signs, or just wait a week or two into the copper until levels stabilize and testing is no longer necessary (assuming proper proportionate water change adjustments as well as evaporation replacements)?

Thanks again, Red

Redfoxtang · Sep 2, 2020

EASTERN INDIGO said:
Thank you for this response. It is very concise and helpful. Yes, I plan on checking constantly using salifert test kit, but now that you mention it I will get a hanna as well. I'll keep you posted. Bought two beautiful Puffers (in case one croaks), and I hope Power is safe, as I have been advised. I also have been advised that if I use Metro with the copper I will no longer be able to read copper accurately. So that brings up this question: Should I start with copper alone and just watch the fish closely for any bacterial infection signs, or just wait a week or two into the copper until levels stabilize and testing is no longer necessary (assuming proper proportionate water change adjustments as well as evaporation replacements)?

Thanks again, Red

I have not had any skew in readings with Metro, GC, Prazipro, etc. dosed in a QT with Copper Power. I do also change water after every fish batch that go through QT but that’s different from what your doing. I also check copper with Hanna so the readings maybe skewed on different test kits. I have not tried these kits.