Does live sand absorb copper in a Qt?

[roggy23]

Thanks

 

[gbroadbridge]

Depends what it's made off. Carbonate absorbs Copper so I'd expect yes.

Best is no rock or substrate in a QT.

 

[vetteguy53081]

It likely does hence the reason QT tanks are bare bottom - No a primary reason. Anything porous will absorb copper

 

[roggy23]

Hmm.. if I remove sand am I gonna lose all the beneficial bacteria?

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

Hmm.. if I remove sand am I gonna lose all the beneficial bacteria?

If it’s a newly set up tank, then yes, you’ll lose most of the beneficial bacteria. You can offset that be adding bacteria from commercial formulations like fritzyme or Dr Tim’s .
Jay

 

[threebuoys]

I've had good luck using clean, washed "play" sand from one of the big box stores in my QT. Not for the "live" benefit, but to provide substrate for wrasses, gobies and blennies that prefer to bury for stress relief and safety The play sand does not contain calcareous material while most all sand marketed for saltwater aquariums contains ground shells, coral, etc which are calcareous.

I keep the play sand in a flat plastic kitchen container appx 8 x 10 x 2 inches tall so I can easily remove it from the QT if necessary. Using this approach, I have never had copper absorption occur during the 30 day copper treatment phase of the current QT protocol.

Having a well cycled filtration system running on the QT is the key for me. I use an external canister and a couple of internal foam air bubble filters running constantly. I keep a couple of dominos in QT jail so the tank is always active. When I start a new QT cycle, I fence off the dominos so they can' terrorize the new fish. Using this approach, I do not have to use bacteria in a bottle which often takes days to be effective in a newly established tank.

 

[MnFish1]

Yes - it probably does - the important thing is the 'levels' you're daily measuring in your Qt IMHO.

 

[Miami Reef]

It does absorb copper, but with a shallow sand bed and daily copper testing: it’s doable.

But for ease of mind go bare bottom in QT.

 

[Colt13]

pretty sure humblefish said the absorption by sand is minimal. if you have a sand burrowing creature then you can keep it in a small tupperware. but if you dont then i'd get rid of it anyway

 

[MnFish1]

pretty sure humblefish said the absorption by sand is minimal. if you have a sand burrowing creature then you can keep it in a small tupperware. but if you dont then i'd get rid of it anyway

Not going to go there. Yes it can - if you test levels - you can be assured that the levels are adequate. There is no way to know for sure - IMHO - whether the sand in xxxx tank is going to absorb copper. The key is keeping the level above at the goal

 

[gmoney243]

Will copper power absorb into a brute trash can if i mix a batch? or can i just rinse it out afterwards and use for mixing Saltwater in DT?

 

[MnFish1]

Will copper power absorb into a brute trash can if i mix a batch? or can i just rinse it out afterwards and use for mixing Saltwater in DT?

I would suggest you call Rubbermaid technical support and ask them. If it does - it's probably minimal. But - why take a chance. Also - a copper test would also help decide whether its safe or not