HELP: Can someone from TM tell me when and where this salt was made?

[Hooz]

I'm looking for a manufacture date and plant for this batch of salt.

I bought it from BRS late in September. The box was torn up in shipping (the bag inside was intact), but I had the forethought to take a picture before I tossed it.

Also wondering if anyone has reported any issues with Syn-Biotic salt recently.

 

[ndds73]

The box said Made in Germany and therefore it is not the bad batch that was made in Turkey. As for the date of this box was made, it is probably made after the Made in Turkey fasco.

Since TM Alkaline is low, I've decided to switch to Fauna Marin Professional Sea and so far so good. Don't know too much about Syn-Biotic salt.

 

[Hooz]

The reason I ask is because I wanted to give the salt a try based on some stuff that I read and watched. I did a 20% WC in two different tanks with it. One tank chugged along just fine (anemones, inverts and fish) while the other took an immediate dive (LPS, softies, inverts and fish).

Specifically my hammers, torches and frog/octospawns looked like crap the next day and have been going downhill ever since. At this point I'm afraid I've lost half my torches, most of my hammers and several of my frogs/octos. My other LPS (including gonis, acans, micromussa, etc) have never looked happier through the whole ordeal. And the new salt was the only thing different from my normal routine.

I've done slow adjustments based on two different ICP tests, but nothing was really out of whack on the ICP tests, and nothing I do seems to be helping. I'm about to start doing back-to-back water changes with another salt to see if I can salvage anything.

 

[ndds73]

I had that same issue buy only found out 3/4 of all my torches and hammers died because of flat worms. You might want to dip your corals with using KFC coral dip method (https://kungfucorals.com/blogs/news/the-kfc-dip-a-game-changer-in-keeping-healthy-euphyllia). However I didn't dip with this method but using the wash step here (https://kungfucorals.com/blogs/news/pre-wash-and-post-wash-with-hydrogen-peroxide) but added Salifert Flat Worm exit, iodine and coral dip into the mix. I did this two weeks apart for total of 3 times just in case if there is a eggs left that hatched after the initial dip. I finally got rid of all flat worms and my torches and hammers and octospawns and they recovered and thriving again.

 

[Hooz]

While I won't dismiss flatworms offhand, I will say that this tank has been running for 4 years, I haven't added any new coral to the tank in 5 months, I have a Six-line wrasse and I've never seen a flatworm, euphyllia eating or otherwise.

I literally did a water change one day and everything retracted a bit, and the next day half the stuff was pulled all the way in. A few are about halfway back to normal, but the rest are gone at this point. It's been 3 weeks, 2 ICP tests, every other day manual testing and another 20% WC with another salt.

And yes, I match the tank temp with my WC water, and I checked the salinity with a hydrometer as recommended.

 

[ndds73]

I was thinking of the temperature differences between new salt mixed and the tank but you had it covered and there was no new coral addition to the tank so we can cross that out. There was a possibility of bacteria but you hadn't introduced wild things to the tank so that might not be it. I do notice sometimes after doing water change with TM my euphylia retracted but not to the point of dying. I noticed if I stirred the sand bed while also caused them to retract and I decided to remove all sand and went with bare bottom. I know that every time I did the water change with TM salt my Japanese leather toadstool always retracted and went on like a week before opening up again. For this reason and the reason of Euphylia retracting I stopped using TM salt and went with Fauna Marin professional salt.

 

[Hans-Werner]

I'm looking for a manufacture date and plant for this batch of salt.

This batch of Syn-Biotic sea salt was mixed on 15th of June 2022 in Germany, Wartenberg. This box is quite from the mid of the filling of this batch. The records show nothing extraordinary, looks like a normal batch of Syn-Biotic mix.

Also our wet chemical and ICP-OES batch controls show fine and normal results.

We don't have other complaints about this batch or salt type so far. It is the first time possible adverse reactions of corals to one of our prebiotic or synbiotic sea salt mixes is reported to us.

 

[Hooz]

Just did a (dead) head count. 63 heads of torches, hammers and frogs/octos.

I had a 17 head orange octospawn that I bought as a single head, 4 years ago. Gone.

Some of that stuff will be hard to replace.

 

[Hans-Werner]

Just did a (dead) head count. 63 heads of torches, hammers and frogs/octos.

I had a 17 head orange octospawn that I bought as a single head, 4 years ago. Gone.

Some of that stuff will be hard to replace.

I am very sorry about your losses. Very sad!

However, I don't think it is a general effect or a danger of the used salt. If something is at the limits even improvements may push corals or a tank beyond them. Also a specific incombatibility with a certain way to run the tank or a specific constellation is possible.