How To Remove Copper From DT

[Elgringodiablo]

i just did a 25% water change and somehow the reading jumped to 0.35(previously 0.31).
i also added 2 poly pads. some AquaForest zeomix(zeolites) which is said to remove some heavy metals. hope this works in reducing some copper
Although I cant really tell if its going to help since i added 2 poly pads at the same time.

Mine fluctuates a bit too. I am just going with whatever the highest reading of the day is.

 

[kevsqn]

i am down to 0.11. just by replacing poly pads and 25% water changes.

 

[Elgringodiablo]

Mine was sticking around 0.2. I put the cupisorb back in about 5 days ago and I'm down to 0.13, so either that or the new polyfilter helped. I figure I'll be around 0 in a month or so. Snails an hermits are fine, noticing some amphipods on the glass. Plan to do another 20% water change this weekend and probably replace my zeovit media.

 

[kevsqn]

I was fown to 0.11 last week and then the next day i was up to 0.29 again. It has stayed around 0.2 until today.
Something ive noticed is that if i placed my poly pads today. The next day, the reading would drop significantly. And then the next day again, the reading would shoot up again. So i plan on trying leaving the polypad for a day only.

Also i did an icp test, and the copper was at 0.0443 ppm. Which is way off compared to the hanna copper(around ~0.2-0.3).

 

[Elgringodiablo]

I was fown to 0.11 last week and then the next day i was up to 0.29 again. It has stayed around 0.2 until today.
Something ive noticed is that if i placed my poly pads today. The next day, the reading would drop significantly. And then the next day again, the reading would shoot up again. So i plan on trying leaving the polypad for a day only.

Also i did an icp test, and the copper was at 0.0443 ppm. Which is way off compared to the hanna copper(around ~0.2-0.3).

I'm going to hold off on ICP until I am at 0 or close. Interesting observation on the polyfilter. I wonder if the Cu starts to escape after a while.

 

[kevsqn]

Mine was sticking around 0.2. I put the cupisorb back in about 5 days ago and I'm down to 0.13, so either that or the new polyfilter helped. I figure I'll be around 0 in a month or so. Snails an hermits are fine, noticing some amphipods on the glass. Plan to do another 20% water change this weekend and probably replace my zeovit media.

so youve tried inverts. all of them are doing fine?

 

[Elgringodiablo]

so youve tried inverts. all of them are doing fine?

I had about a half dozen dwarf blue hermits I didn’t see to remove. They reappeared when I got back down to .3 or so. Added one trochus snail once I got down to 0.2, once I saw it cruising around for a couple days I added another half dozen and a couple ceriths. Not going to fully restock my CUC until I am under 0.1.

 

[4FordFamily]

I did 2-3 near 100% water changes when it was stubborn for me, a few days apart, each time replacing all media (poly, cuprisorb, carbon).

 

[Elgringodiablo]

I did 2-3 near 100% water changes when it was stubborn for me, a few days apart, each time replacing all media (poly, cuprisorb, carbon).

If I had a time machine, I would have had my plumber install a drain line near my system that I could hook up to and I also would have created much larger water mixing facilities. As it stands right now, for me to do a 100% water change, I would be hauling 20 home depot buckets and mixing my 25 gallon salt water storage 4 times. Likely take me the better part of a day.

Honestly, even with the smaller, 20 gallon water changes, I am pretty happy with my progress. I've gone from 1.75 to 0.1 in a month without removing any rock. I'm pretty confident that I can be down to undetectable in another month.

 

[Elgringodiablo]

Right now I am only running GAC, Cupisorb and Polyfilter pads and I am noticing a lot of fluctuation in my readings. Last night my highest of two Hanna Checker readings was 0.11, this morning I was seeing 0.21. I am going to do a big-ish (20%) water change tomorrow and swap out my GAC.

While I don't doubt there is some hiding my my rock work, which may gradually leak out over time, I'm of the school of thought that there is a finite amount of Cu in my system and it will eventually all come out.

I kind of wonder if I am getting inaccurate readings or if it's leaching out of some of the media meant to absorb it.

 

[kevsqn]

Right now I am only running GAC, Cupisorb and Polyfilter pads and I am noticing a lot of fluctuation in my readings. Last night my highest of two Hanna Checker readings was 0.11, this morning I was seeing 0.21. I am going to do a big-ish (20%) water change tomorrow and swap out my GAC.

While I don't doubt there is some hiding my my rock work, which may gradually leak out over time, I'm of the school of thought that there is a finite amount of Cu in my system and it will eventually all come out.

I kind of wonder if I am getting inaccurate readings or if it's leaching out of some of the media meant to absorb it.

Thats exactly whats been happening to me. I feel like some copper might be leeching out of the carbon, polypads if not changed regularly.

 

[4FordFamily]

Thats exactly whats been happening to me. I feel like some copper might be leeching out of the carbon, polypads if not changed regularly.

I don’t remember having much trouble but I also didn’t have accurate testers— nor did I try. Things worked out so I left it be. It makes me wonder if stuff can handle copper better than we thought

 

[Elgringodiablo]

I don’t remember having much trouble but I also didn’t have accurate testers— nor did I try. Things worked out so I left it be. It makes me wonder if stuff can handle copper better than we thought

That may be the case. I had about 5-10 dwarf blue hermits survive the entire treatment and emerge from hiding once the levels were below 300ppb. Was able to start adding snails back in around 200ppb and see pods on my glass. From what I understand up to 40ppb is pretty common just from from Copper coming from additives. I want to say @Randy Holmes-Farley was seeing about 15ppb in his system (https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/copper-in-reef-tanks.345407/#post-4299381). In the recent videos BRS did testing a number of different Kalk, Calcium, Alkalinity and Magnesium additives, many of them had trace contaminants such as copper when tested. I don't think small amounts are as big a deal as people think.

 

[Elgringodiablo]

That may be the case. I had about 5-10 dwarf blue hermits survive the entire treatment and emerge from hiding once the levels were below 300ppb. Was able to start adding snails back in around 200ppb and see pods on my glass. From what I understand up to 40ppb is pretty common just from from Copper coming from additives. I want to say @Randy Holmes-Farley was seeing about 15ppb in his system (https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/copper-in-reef-tanks.345407/#post-4299381). In the recent videos BRS did testing a number of different Kalk, Calcium, Alkalinity and Magnesium additives, many of them had trace contaminants such as copper when tested. I don't think small amounts are as big a deal as people think.

Here's the link to the testing they did on Calcium additives that shows trace Cu appearing. https://s3.amazonaws.com/brsinstructions/BRS/Calcium_Test_Results_08032018.pdf

It's probably safe to say that everyone has a little copper in their systems, just way less than the 1.5-2ppm necessary to kill parasites.

 

[kevsqn]

Here's the link to the testing they did on Calcium additives that shows trace Cu appearing. https://s3.amazonaws.com/brsinstructions/BRS/Calcium_Test_Results_08032018.pdf

It's probably safe to say that everyone has a little copper in their systems, just way less than the 1.5-2ppm necessary to kill parasites.

Not good at chemistry or anything but copper reading <1ppm is actually pretty high in a reef tank right?

 

[Elgringodiablo]

Not good at chemistry or anything but copper reading <1ppm is actually pretty high in a reef tank right?

Yes, it is. 1ppm will definitely kill corals and inverts. But if a calcium additive is 0.5ppm and you add 100ml to a 450 liter (115-ish gallons) it ends up being substantially diluted (like 0.1ppb if my math is right). Haven't put coral back in yet, but snails and hermits are fine at 0.2ppm.

 

[kevsqn]

update. im still hovering around 0.2. ive changed carbon,gfo,cuprisorb,polypads every 5 days. it even shot up to 0.37 one day.
i tested with api copper kit. and showing im at 0 i think.
im buying a cheap zoa tomorrow and see how it reacts

 

[Maritimer]

The API kit's been faulted as difficult to read, but I can't see where you've got any copper in there to be read. Hopefully, your zoas do well, and your rocks don't leach!

You might consider just keeping a Poly-filter or a pouch of Cuprisorb in your filtration system for a while ... just in case.

~Bruce

 

[Elgringodiablo]

Mine is getting closer to copper free. Dosed Triton Detox a few days ago. Hanna read 0.12 last night. Will test again tonight and turn my media reactors back on to pull out the Detox. The last 200ppb has been a pretty slow road. On a more positive note, my cleanup crew doesn't seem to care. Might even throw a cheap monti cap in there to see how it fares. I've got some green monti in one of my other systems that grows like a weed wherever pieces break off.

 

[kevsqn]

Update
after several more polypads, carbon, gfo, water changes, cuprisorb. it still would not go below 0.2.
it always stays around 0.2.

so what i did was take a new batch of newly mixed saltwater. tested it on the hanna and sure enough it was 0.23.

what im thinking is that its the reagent that is making the water cloudy so the hanna gives a 0.2 reading.
i shake the cuvette for 45 seconds each time. and make sure there are no micro bubbles inside. its as consistent as possible.
maybe i have a bad reagent or it has been exposed to heat or whatever(which i highly doubt because i store it in a drawer).
but yeah. i think its good to share this discovery.

And also i did an icp test 1month ago. and the result was 0.02. which is really far from 0.2 that hanna is showing.