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View Full Version : Will Cupramine Kill the Bacteria in Live Rock?


sportyrox
03/24/2010, 07:30 PM
I understand that Cupramine kills all invertabrates on Live Rock, but does it kill the beneficial bacteria..... thus leaving it dead? On the bottle it says it may "retard" bacteria populations during treatment, but it will bounce back once removed through water changes, carbon, or Cuprazorb. It also claims that it will not be absorbed into the glass, live rock, or sand bed. This is an aquarium that will house one trigger fish.

jjk_reef00
03/24/2010, 10:36 PM
I would think the rock would absorb some of the medication. I would use a qt with no live rock, and no sand that way you know the dose of copper is consistent and none is absorbed. The downside is you need to do frequent water changes to keep water quality high.

sportyrox
03/24/2010, 11:07 PM
I understand that. Sadly, that wasn't an option considering that I did not have a quarintine tank. Right now the tank has no fish in it and has already been treated with Cupramine. The copper level never changed so I have to assume that the rock didn't absorb it.

Recty
03/24/2010, 11:41 PM
No, it won't kill your bacteria off, at least not all of it. I've treated my tank with cupramine twice, the first time due to snail die off I had a little ammonia problems, the second time I had no problems at all with water quality. I'm sure if the bacteria had died off I would have been seeing lots of ammonia within just a day or two.

sportyrox
03/24/2010, 11:48 PM
I just need to know if the rock is dead and will no longer break down ammomia.

sportyrox
03/24/2010, 11:49 PM
Thank you Recty.

customdusty
03/25/2010, 06:10 PM
I'm also interested in this topic. Treating fish in a FOWLR tank???

Recty
03/25/2010, 09:07 PM
I'm also interested in this topic. Treating fish in a FOWLR tank???

If you want a long read with a lot of pictures... go through my thread.

http://mail.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1622958

I think I treated my FOWLR twice during the duration of that thread.

leemajors
12/25/2013, 09:34 PM
is there thread still there

MrTuskfish
12/26/2013, 10:16 AM
Treating a tank with substrate and LR is iffy at best. Its time to break down and get a QT. However, Cupramine will not destroy your bio-filter. Here's some vital info on Cupramine, the FAQ are vital. http://www.seachem.com/Products/product_pages/Cupramine.html

hogfanreefer
12/26/2013, 10:42 PM
I run a cycled QT (ceramic media) with no LR and cupramine has never caused me a problem with biofiltration so far. After I complete a QT session I do a 100% water change and add some ammonia and every time so far it tests negative in 24 hours.