seachem cupramine directions

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steve r

Aquarium Advice FINatic
Joined
Oct 9, 2004
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kenosha wisconsin
the directions say to give one dose, wait 48 and repeat. then leave at that concentration for 14 days. does this mean to not dose again and dont run carbon or anything that might remove it for 14 days? just want to make sure i am not supposed to redose. it says not to redose without a test kit.

just want to be clear
steve r
 
steve r said:
the directions say to give one dose, wait 48 and repeat.
Correct!

then leave at that concentration for 14 days. does this mean to not dose again and dont run carbon or anything that might remove it for 14 days? just want to make sure i am not supposed to redose. it says not to redose without a test kit.
Never use carbon with copper unless you want to remove the dosage. After the 2 primary doses you should still monitor the concentrations daily to be sure nothing goes awry. Cupramine should be maintained at 0.5 mg/l for a minimum of 14 days but 21 would be even better.

When doing water changes, be sure you dose the new water before it's exchanged for the old to maintain the dosage. You aren't technically "adding" more, simpley maintaining the original concentration.

Cheers
Steve
 
so i will have to do a little math and do water changes in pretty exact gallons. should i get a copper test kit then? which one would you suggest?

steve r
 
steve r said:
so i will have to do a little math and do water changes in pretty exact gallons.
Make sure you use a different mixing container than you would normally use for the main tank. Once used for copper it should be labeled in big black letters "QT ONLY" just to be safe. It's pretty easy to guage the dosage but if your unsure, measure the water volume for the first batch of treatment water to the closest gallon (ie.. 4 or 5, not 3½). Mark it off the water level on the outside with the same black marker. You then always have the same "fill to" line and will be able to add the same dosage each time without any guesswork. The full dosage is 4 drops per gallon for the water changes to maintain a 0.5 mg/l treatment level.

should i get a copper test kit then? which one would you suggest?
Always monitor the concentrations even once the correct treatment level is reached. You should be testing at least daily. Seachems "multi-test" copper kit is the best choice. It will be the most accurate for this type of copper compound.

Cheers
Steve
 
i ordered up a second set of everything to day for mixing ( heater , PH ) and the copper test kit. thanks for the advice

steve r
 
Steve
Why not do a water change, and then test the water IN the tank for the copper content? Rather than mixing the water with copper in a seperate container, you simply just take the old water out of the tank, put new water in, test it for copper, and then add accordingly? Saves having to mix the new copper/water in a container.
 
Since you end up diluting the QT water when the new SW is added. The correction dosage ends up being a guessing game which can poison the QT if your not extremely careful. Either that or you end up driving yourself nuts retesting until you get the right level.

If you add the 4 drops/gal to the SW before the water change, there's no guessing and then only one test is usually needed after the change to confirm treatment concentrations. Much less hassle and much safer for the livestock.

Cheers
Steve
 
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