Copper tx in new cycling axie tank

[Kathy S]

Howdy- I have a new 75G tank cycling to get axie juveniles for my husband: He moved some live plants from our kid's aquarium and tx them for ick with a copper- based product in the new, still empty cycling tank. It has a slate floor siliconed in place. What should I do to clean this tank, if anything, and start over the cycling before moving 3 inch juveniles into it? Sorry for the trouble and thank you in advance!

 

[mizzerman]

Clean it well, pretty sure anything with copper is toxic to amphibians!!

 

[Kathy S]

Yikes- I was afraid so! Anyone have any idea best way to clean tank, slate flooring and filter??

 

[Elise]

He moved some live plants from our kid's aquarium and tx them for ick with a copper- based product in the new, still empty cycling tank.

If you were to continue with only water changes and a minimal to moderate cleaning, then I would worry a remaining copper concentration could still be beyond the tolerance of your axolotls, making them ill or even causing death. The signs of heavy metal toxicity are often nonspecific and hard to diagnose, which compounds this problem.

A few complete rinses of your aquarium, substrate, decoration, filters, and plants would be needed for peace of mind. Another option would be to purchase a product advertised to absorb copper like Cupisorb by Seachem, along with a copper testing kit to monitor the progress.