API Copper Freshwater And Saltwater Aquarium Test Kit

Copper-based medications work in a narrow band: too little does nothing, too much kills fish. This kit reads total copper — free and chelated together — from 0 to 4 ppm, around 90 tests, so you can hold a treatment at the level the medication label asks for.

Read this before you dose

Copper is toxic to invertebrates. API is explicit that copper treatment is not for tanks holding snails, shrimp, crayfish or corals, and not for planted tanks or ponds. If that describes your tank, the answer is a separate hospital tank, not a lower dose.

What is in the kit

• 1 copper test solution
• 1 capped glass test tube
• Colour chart and instruction booklet
• Around 90 tests

How often

Free copper falls away quickly and needs testing daily during a course of treatment; chelated copper holds its level far longer. Some tap water already carries copper, so test the source water before you start.

Looking after the kit

Rinse each tube with tap water straight after use — dried reagent stains the tube and throws out the next reading. Never wash tubes with detergent; the residue is harmful if it goes back into the tank. Shake the reagent bottles firmly, but invert the capped tube gently.

See the rest of the API range at PeekAPaw.

API Copper Test Kit on the API website