Copper

[kmsrn]

Hi all,
I'm new to the saltwater world. Have a 90gallon last 3 months. It was suggested to me by my lfs to add copper to my main tank as an alternative to a QT. My tank is a fish-only tank with no LR or inverts and it will stay this way. I've already treated my tank and have a copper level of .15. All fish doing fine. I would like to stay with this and use my 30 gallon tank for a reef instead of a QT. Any thoughts?

 

[usinkit]

Did you have a problem with the 90 to have to treat with copper? I would use the 30 for a QT its better than risking the main tank.

 

[kmsrn]

No problems with the main tank and would like to keep it that way so I thought that keeping a low copper level in my tank would keep the problems away.

 

[usinkit]

In my opinion I would not use copper unless all other means of curing the problem fail. Copper can be harmful to fish and only should be used for treatment if there is a problem with parasites. If you have been running copper for 6 weeks or more I dont think you would have to worry about any parasites such as ick. I would discontinue the use of copper and run some carbon for 3 days and change every 3 days for a couple of weeks to get most of the copper out. I would get the 30 up and running for any future fish and QT the fish for 6 weeks which is the life cycle of ick. Hope this helps.