Removing Copper with Carbon

ksfulk · Jul 31, 2015

So kinda of a weird question, but I am runnning a QT (40 gallon breeder) with 4 fish in it (2 pyramid butterflies, a yellow eyed kole tang and a two barred rabbitfish). I had been using cupramine since one of the butterflies was showing signs of ich, but the animals havent been responding well to the treatment, so I wanted to stop using cupramine and switch to chloroquine phosphate.

My question is, I know I shouldnt mix the two treatments, so I'm currently running a 1/2 cup of ROX 0.8 carbon through a media reactor powered by a maxijet 1200 in order to remove the copper from the system - How long should I run the carbon for before all of the copper is removed from the system? How long should I wait until dosing the ChloroPhos?

There are several schedule 40 PVC "WYEs" within the tank, but nothing that I believe will absorb the copper. Simple set up: Jager 300watt heater, Tunze powerhead (6105 I think), HOB filter with a seeded sponge in the filter, and a ATO system that keeps the tank stable.

vedros74 · Jul 31, 2015

They sell something called cuprisorb that you can use. That and water changes are your best bet

ksfulk · Jul 31, 2015

vedros74 said:
They sell something called cuprisorb that you can use. That and water changes are your best bet

Thanks! I know about Curpisorb, Id just rather not add yet another thing to the system. Plus I have carbon already. And I change 10-15 gallons of water a day in the QT to keep the ammonia down, so I think Im on the right path - just was curious if anyone knew if I could run 24 hours or if its more like a few days.