HELP - Corals are dying for no apparent reason - after 30+ years in the hobby I am thinking of ending it.

[Alex V.]

How can I detect a stray voltage?

 

[sixty_reefer]

It would be slow , not fast like this. Also people used to run 0 nitrates 0 phosphates and corals lived pretty well, especially acros.

They were never absolute zeros there was no icp back den also phosphate absorbing medias have evolved a lot many are capable to absorb organic and inorganic phosphorus now days that makes a difference, only trough icp is possible to test for phosphorus that kind of testing didn’t exist 20 years ago

 

[EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal]

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How to Test for Stray Voltage

Purchase or borrow a voltage meter. They can generally be found for less than $20 at most automotive parts or hardware stores.

Turn the selector to "120 AC Voltage."

Insert the tip of the black probe into the third or "grounding" hole in an electrical outlet.

Insert the metal tip of the red probe into the aquarium water.
Watch the meter needle for any movement. Any needle movement indicates a voltage leak in your system. Digital meters will show a number reading.

 

[Alex V.]

I had a large algae reactor which I removed to rule out any toxin coming out of it. I though It might be some large colonies that I have of Palys since those are not dying.

 

[Ef4life]

I’d start checking every single one of your pumps and frag racks etc with a magnet,feeding clips etc . Could be rusting, or a pump might have cracked internally.

check your tropic Marin salt box, if it’s made in turkey that’s another very likely possibility.

I know I tried to use a small amount of the Turkish salt In my mixing barrel along with the majority of the good German stuff, that was a mistake (I should update the tmpro thread on that). I should have thrown it out but i figured diluting it enough should have been fine, Pretty much every hard coral died in my 10g. The candy canes did pull through though but still haven’t fully recovered. I did do a few small wc on my larger system with no effect, so diluting it would potentially have been ok. But I ended up dumping the barrel ad tossing the salt. I can’t totally say it was the salt, because I did crack the glass on that tank and replaced it, so a tank swap happened at the same time which could have also caused issue, but imo more unlikely

 

[Alex V.]

What I found odd is that corals die like if you dip them in acid, heads of torch die with no tissue remaining within hours.

 

[Alex V.]

Just Checked the bucket of 200 gallons of salt and is made in Turkey. I can try purchasing salt tomorrow but by then most of the corals will be gone.

 

[Ef4life]

What I found odd is that corals die like if you dip them in acid, heads of torch die with no tissue remaining within hours.

Check the salt man, my candy canes looked shredded apart after a few hours

 

[Sebastiancrab]

Walmart has inexpensive voltage multimeters and may be open late near you.

 

[Ef4life]

Just Checked the bucket of 200 gallons of salt and is made in Turkey. I can try purchasing salt tomorrow but by then most of the corals will be gone.

Tm has a recall on it, so it will get replaced. Don’t just toss the buckets yet.
Really sorry this is happening to you.

 

[MERKEY]

Just Checked the bucket of 200 gallons of salt and is made in Turkey. I can try purchasing salt tomorrow but by then most of the corals will be gone.

Ah shoot this has happened to so many people because of this bad batch.

I am so so sorry it happened to you.

 

[Sebastiancrab]

Just Checked the bucket of 200 gallons of salt and is made in Turkey. I can try purchasing salt tomorrow but by then most of the corals will be gone.

Do you have reefer friends nearby? See if you can get some salt from them tonight.

 

[MERKEY]

Tm has a recall on it, so it will get replaced. Don’t just toss the buckets yet.
Really sorry this is happening to you.

All his corals are gone...they can't replace that tho unfortunately.

This is one part of the hobby that sucks.

 

[Ef4life]

Your in Florida? How close are you to the ocean to possibly go get some emergency natural sea water.

 

[vetteguy53081]

How can I detect a stray voltage?

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How to Test for Stray Voltage​

1. Purchase or borrow a voltage meter. They can generally be found for less than $20 at most automotive parts or hardware stores.
2. Turn the selector to "120 AC Voltage."
3. Insert the tip of the black probe into the third or "grounding" hole in an electrical outlet.
4. Insert the metal tip of the red probe into the aquarium water.
5. Watch the meter needle for any movement. Any needle movement indicates a voltage leak in your system. Digital meters will show a number reading.

How to Identify the Voltage Leak Source​

• One at a time, disconnect each electrical appliance (heaters, pumps, lights, chiller) associated with your aquarium, retesting for voltage as described above after each unit is disconnected.
• Heaters and water pumps (powerheads) are the most frequent cause of voltage leaks. These devices have 120 volts of electricity feeding into them, which is enough to do a lot of damage in a saltwater aquarium.
• When the damaged electrical device is found, disconnect it from the electrical circuit carefully. Keep your hands out of the aquarium and don't handle equipment with wet hands in order to avoid electrical shock.

 

[Bfragale]

Man, I think most likely you have a bad batch of salt.

I’ve been using Red Sea blue bucket- pretty happy with results, and you may be able to find it at your local lfs. The damage may be done to the tank. I don’t know it you do 100% water change that it will solve, I’m not sure what the toxins are In the salt but my gut reaction would be 100% water change with different salt, fresh carbon, maybe even chemipure blue-

stray voltage I think can cause a lot of damage as well, but to me all signs point to bad salt. Your an experienced reefer, doing everything right- makes me even more leaning towards bad salt.
I’m sorry my friend. Don’t quit, you will get thru this

 

[Alex V.]

I checked with my meter in ACmA and it says jump from 0.00 to 0.07 started to check every pump and found that my Ecotech Marine M1 pump is the culprit of the 0.07. Now is the pump or the Tropic Marin Salt or something else?

 

[Karen00]

Maybe it's that disease that's wiping out the Florida reefs (and other areas). A member here posted they suddenly had a mass die off of corals and couldn't find the reason. Parameters and water analysis all showed as fine. I don't know if the member had the coral tested or whether that virus was the inevitable conclusion but the member thinks it came in on an infected rock (not sure if the rock had coral on it). Even if it's not that particular virus it's possible it is a coral disease that needs treating.

 

[Lavey29]

With all those reactors running is the tank stripped of trace elements? Do you dose trace at all?

 

[Ef4life]

I checked with my meter in ACmA and it says jump from 0.00 to 0.07 started to check every pump and found that my Ecotech Marine M1 pump is the culprit of the 0.07. Now is the pump or the Tropic Marin Salt or something else?

I’d wager both are culprits, but as it goes in this hobby there is never a definite answer as to what happened. I’ve actually used my mj1200 sump vacuum pump with a bad cord knowingly in my tank, like exposed copper wire on the cord with power to it, I figured it out when it shocked me, still kept using the pump until It fried itself under water a few hours later when I was about done cleaning. But the tank suffered no ill effects from it. 100% do not recommend trying that. I live dangerously