How to get Copper Power levels down?

Albertan22 · Sep 17, 2020

Ok, so I’m setting up a new tank and started prophylactically treating my QT with Copper Power for my new additions. I had never used the product before but followed instructions on R2R and everything went great. I am struggling with how to get the copper out of the water so I can start the next batch of new fish though. Searches on the internet just seem to suggest carbon. So I tried that and left it running 2 weeks, the number on my Hanna checker didn’t budge. I ended up draining the whole qt and starting from scratch. I’m back in that stage again now, so I went in search of poly filter pads, couldn’t find any locally so spent what felt like too much money on something called metasorb. It says on the packaging it absorbs metals, including copper, in hours. Well that’s been running 3 days now (with a bag of carbon to help with residual medications) and the number hasn’t budged again. I assume it’s because the copper is in some kind of form that doesn’t readily bind with other compounds. Is there any way to remove copper power from the water without doing a 100% water change? I’m getting tired of dropping money on media that doesn’t work. I’d also like to keep the tank somewhat cycled and not disrupt it so radically by replacing all the water.

Tanggy · Sep 17, 2020

Albertan22 said:
Ok, so I’m setting up a new tank and started prophylactically treating my QT with Copper Power for my new additions. I had never used the product before but followed instructions on R2R and everything went great. I am struggling with how to get the copper out of the water so I can start the next batch of new fish though. Searches on the internet just seem to suggest carbon. So I tried that and left it running 2 weeks, the number on my Hanna checker didn’t budge. I ended up draining the whole qt and starting from scratch. I’m back in that stage again now, so I went in search of poly filter pads, couldn’t find any locally so spent what felt like too much money on something called metasorb. It says on the packaging it absorbs metals, including copper, in hours. Well that’s been running 3 days now (with a bag of carbon to help with residual medications) and the number hasn’t budged again. I assume it’s because the copper is in some kind of form that doesn’t readily bind with other compounds. Is there any way to remove copper power from the water without doing a 100% water change? I’m getting tired of dropping money on media that doesn’t work. I’d also like to keep the tank somewhat cycled and not disrupt it so radically by replacing all the water.

Look at seachem cuprisorb.

Jerry Barnes · Sep 17, 2020

Cuprisorb seems to work well for me. Depending on the size of your QT tank you may find a complete water change is the cheapest solution.

mfinn · Sep 17, 2020

As long as you have a working bio-filter in the tank, replacing the water isn't going to stop any biological filtration.
There is little bacteria in the water.
Once my fish have gone through a quarantine period I do a couple large water changes and use poly filter.
But I have found that copper seems to bind to the sponge filters I use.

Jay Hemdal · Sep 17, 2020

Albertan22 said:
Ok, so I’m setting up a new tank and started prophylactically treating my QT with Copper Power for my new additions. I had never used the product before but followed instructions on R2R and everything went great. I am struggling with how to get the copper out of the water so I can start the next batch of new fish though. Searches on the internet just seem to suggest carbon. So I tried that and left it running 2 weeks, the number on my Hanna checker didn’t budge. I ended up draining the whole qt and starting from scratch. I’m back in that stage again now, so I went in search of poly filter pads, couldn’t find any locally so spent what felt like too much money on something called metasorb. It says on the packaging it absorbs metals, including copper, in hours. Well that’s been running 3 days now (with a bag of carbon to help with residual medications) and the number hasn’t budged again. I assume it’s because the copper is in some kind of form that doesn’t readily bind with other compounds. Is there any way to remove copper power from the water without doing a 100% water change? I’m getting tired of dropping money on media that doesn’t work. I’d also like to keep the tank somewhat cycled and not disrupt it so radically by replacing all the water.

Carbon is over rated as a copper removal product for organically chelated copper. Did I read correctly though that you changed ALL of the water in the QT and the copper is still elevated? That should not happen, I would start to mistrust the testing method. Some copper “removing” products are simply EDTA, I don’t like using that because the copper is still in the tank, just chelated strongly to the compound.
Jay

Albertan22 · Sep 17, 2020

Jay Hemdal said:
Carbon is over rated as a copper removal product for organically chelated copper. Did I read correctly though that you changed ALL of the water in the QT and the copper is still elevated? That should not happen, I would start to mistrust the testing method. Some copper “removing” products are simply EDTA, I don’t like using that because the copper is still in the tank, just chelated strongly to the compound.
Jay

The first time around I ended up changing all the water and it removed the copper. I’m trying not to do that again but it looks like that is what I will have to do. Some have said to try cuprisorb but I’d probably have to ship that out of the USA and I don’t want to wait around for the month that will take (I’m in Canada). So it looks like it’s more water down the drain. With a 180g running an AWC system and having to reboot a 29g QT every six weeks (plus 1 or 2 water changes in between) I’m burning through salt and RODI filter media like crazy!