Urgh seriously.

[Bleigh]

Hello,

Well I have for the last two years used instant ocean from lfs. When they did the move they didn’t bring salt water so I had to rush. Well they were actually out, ( I always buy the pre maid from the lfs. Since they were out I went to the other shop and they do Fritz pro.
This is the only time I have deviated salt water. The ph is close to 8.2-8.4 right where should be. M

None of them have any discoloration or any signs of ick or marine ick. Nine breath hard, all seem very happy and eating like crazy and swimming. My blue hippo always hides but when I feed she comes running. When I fed this time I knew something was wrong because she didn’t show up. Her and the naso where always sitting by the food section saying feed me. I will probably do a large water change Sunday back to instant ocean. Salinity is the same 1.025. Again totally lost on this.

So I suggest this, cause I did it. I thought all my water was perfect. My refractometer said the salinity was right where I wanted it. But my alkalinity was ridiculously low. I was thinking something was wrong with me salt mixture and it wasn’t mixing to the correct levels. Then I had the idea to double check that I was putting in the correct amount of salt and I calibrated my refractometer. It was way off, so everything else was way off. What are you using to measure salinity? You’re getting an okay number, but if the instrument isn’t calibrated correctly, the actual number may be in the bad range

 

[vetteguy53081]

Hello,

Well I have for the last two years used instant ocean from lfs. When they did the move they didn’t bring salt water so I had to rush. Well they were actually out, ( I always buy the pre maid from the lfs. Since they were out I went to the other shop and they do Fritz pro.
This is the only time I have deviated salt water. The ph is close to 8.2-8.4 right where should be. M

None of them have any discoloration or any signs of ick or marine ick. Nine breath hard, all seem very happy and eating like crazy and swimming. My blue hippo always hides but when I feed she comes running. When I fed this time I knew something was wrong because she didn’t show up. Her and the naso where always sitting by the food section saying feed me. I will probably do a large water change Sunday back to instant ocean. Salinity is the same 1.025. Again totally lost on this.

Fritz Pro is and has been a good salt in the industry but about 3 weeks ago, there is a thread where many are having issues using this salt and losing SPS, not softies. I think its either coincidence OR a bad batch/lot of mix that got into their facility and many ended up with it??

 

[Sarah24!]

Fritz Pro is and has been a good salt in the industry but about 3 weeks ago, there is a thread where many are having issues using this salt and losing SPS, not softies. I think its either coincidence OR a bad batch/lot of mix that got into their facility and many ended up with it??

Hello,

I’m thinking the same thing with the salt water. I plan on using another 60 gallons but from the other place and see if that matters. I bought seed to put bacteria back into the tank. But was told I didn’t need to because my tank is already cycled.

In testing my water I have the new salt probe, that says 1.025, my refractor meter says 1.024 and old hydrometer says 1.024. When local fish shop tested with their instruments it was 1.025. The only change was from instant ocean to the Fritz saltwater, which we used close to 80 gallons so with water displacement about 40%.

 

[Tumey]

Hello,

So the hits just keep on coming, and no idea what to fix. Came home today from in service and I lost my clam and my blue hippo tang. I have no ammonia, nitrite, skimmer is producing air, nitrates are maybe 2
And phosphates maybe .15 little lower than the first color mark on the api test. Had lfs do separate tests same results. Still losing coral, and no idea where to stop the bleeding. Same thing with my blue hippo she was swimming this morning and ate food etc. she didn’t come out for the night feeding and I started to look and she was behind the rocks in the back. I’m pretty sure just the moving of the tank stressed the clam out. Normally it has always had its mantle out and even from day one it has not done well. I was still hoping it would get better if I kept every thing the same as before. I even left it on the same rock, I moved the clam on the rock and built the rock scape to fit it and placed pumps in the same place. It’s been a very long dreadful two weeks.

I’m sorry you’re having to continue dealing with so much loss. It’s my thoughts that the less than ideal conditions of the initial move ( leaving things in buckets, only being able to use powerheads for circulation in tank, etc. ) have a big part to play in what you’re experiencing. You’ve done everything you can, with the busy life you have, to recover from the HOA nightmare. Your plate has definitely been full for some time now. I hope things settle down for you soon and that your tank too begins to recover. Maybe you need the nephews to add some “ liquid gold “ to the next water change.

 

[Lowell Lemon]

Bummer ;Blackeye

 

[Fin]

Hey Sarah, just checking on you and hoping things are at least beginning to settle down a little. You have been quiet, so I guess you are still really busy with everything going on. If you have a minute later, let us know how you are.

 

[Sarah24!]

Hello Dear friends,

Sorry, yes I have been quiet, maybe a tad to quiet but thanks to (a friend), I’m kinda coming out from under a pile of rocks or cave, etc.

Wow, so much has happened since my last post gosh geez where to start. Well lol I’m moved into my new home. I still a trillion boxes every where and my house looks like it was thrown in a commercial size dryer for ten years. But it’s slowly going back to a home again, slowly.

As most know my tank well it’s very dear to me, and it’s well my personal little ocean and reef and what not. Yes I lost a lot of corals, fish, (my skimmer completely crashed on me), it’s been a rough few weeks. But as in most things, Mother Nature has away of rebuilding so I kinda have to rebuild. Some corals have finally started to show signs of success, and others that I thought were in the clear well they went down hill. In terms with this (I can’t say for certain), but I think my coral loss was from me basically being stupid. My normal lfs uses instant ocean salt mix etc, and well I went to get lots of salt water 80-90 gallons but they were closed. Went to the other lfs and bought my water. Little did I know they use Fritz.

Now maybe it was do to a water change, but we used the fritz salt water to add water back in. From there my corals just plummeted faster than I could even react and everything (parameters) was normal. Just kept losing corals, and then my skimmer just produced water no bubbles. I took out and nobody could get it to work,
Had to get a new one. Pump worked fine nothing else would work (still lost on it). Anyway I was talking to the place that moved my tank, and some how they asked me about my salt. Which I use their 90% if they are not closed. When I mentioned the other salt water aka fritz (now disclaimer I’m not certain on this but), lfs had a very large amount complaints from people where their tanks had crashed. Come to find out which both shops agreed that anyone who had used their batch of fritz salt water had massive coral die off and issues with their tanks.

Now I have no idea if this is true but I did a 90 gallon water change with just pro salt from instant ocean and now I’m starting to see my corals come back again. The lfs that I normally use, tried fritz once and it reacted bad with their instant ocean. So they switched back and customers complained. Anyway the only person I can blame is me. I have seen great success with both brands and both lfs I normally don’t have issues with. But I think the different salt mix (among other stresses as moving the tank was the final straw). Fish, who knows, but I have no ammonia, etc. at this point all I can do is rebuild
And well never ever move again (or mow my yard lol).

 

[jsker]

Pictures of it, or it never happen (the move that is;Hilarious;Hilarious;Hilarious;Hilarious). Congratulation on the new home

Most likely your system is used the the parameters of the IO salt, and I have read and been involved in a couple of debates on salt and that is all I am going to say I cannot say much, I am in the rebuild stages of my system.

Did you move the sand bed, or start a new?

 

[Sarah24!]

Hello,

Ahhh lol well I filled a 40ft moving truck! Can you believe it. I’m 25 single female and I filled a 40 foot huge moving van. If snoopy were real and alive he would be turning over in his grave or nose diving his dog house straight down with flames coming out. I will show some pics but my house is a bleedin disaster zone. I’m half tempted to call the American Red Cross and disaster relief to come help.

In terms with my tank, I kept every bit of the display water plus or minus ten gallons. We drained the entire sump, which was 50 easy, and then both over flows which is maybe another 10 gallons. But I had to have lost more water because I used 75 gallons to get the tank flowing again.

We used all the same live rock, same sand pretty much everything transferred over. I strongly believe that dumping the sand in first, then filling the tank up was a huge mistake. Which I told the repeatedly not to do. It was the main reason I couldn’t place my corals in the display overnight. It was sooo cloudy I couldn’t see my fingers next to the glass.

But, again back to rebuilding and hoping I never move again or if I do I have something already set up. But honestly say I have placed myself in a major bind. I don’t hate the house I’m in now, but don’t love it. Do love it has a down stairs bathroom lol. With this said when I go to buy or build a new house this starts all over again. Knowing what I know errrrr now (as snoopy lawn dart’s his dog house across the grass entrenched in flames), I would have just paid the stupid fine.

I have to say corals are super errr odd I guess. For example I had some thought literally made it through everything well except the move. But I have fragged others and the mother colony went up in flames because the alk was a tad off, or cal or good grief some parameter. But throw them through a move and they come out just grand. Yet corals that are supposedly very hearty and forgiving just bottom out on one. Not to mention you have half a tank where things are doing just dandy, and then you have the nasties and as you try to save them, one ends up killing a healthy one and then two corals die instead of one. It’s enough to make one check in at acme looney bin.

 

[NY_Caveman]

Sorry to hear of your troubles, but glad you are moved and in. Love reading your posts through the good, the bad and the downright funny.

 

[Fin]

One step at a time. You will get there. Glad the dust is at least beginning to settle. MIght be a great time for a garage sale!

 

[jsker]

We used all the same live rock, same sand pretty much everything transferred over. I strongly believe that dumping the sand in first, then filling the tank up was a huge mistake

Chalk this one up to a learning experience, very few are successful with a sand transfer.

There is a build thread here that a member was basically build his house around his tank @x_burt. link. wow what a house and tank.

 

[Katrina71]

Same sand was the issue imo.

 

[Victoria M]

Sarah, what a saga. I am so sorry to see all you have gone through recently. I admire you for your tenacity. A Tonka truck and will, determination and maximum effort! That is something to be proud of! I am always trying to get my boys to understand the necessity for DIY, because often times you can not rely on others to have the same care or dedication to do the job right. Like, sometimes it is the contractor canceling on you that is the motivation. Crap just has to be done so you do it! Nesessity is the mother of all invention. Desperation is the mother of ingenuity! TONKA TRUCK! I can not get over it!
This past summer I was trying to get the boys to finish cutting up and moving the hot tub. I was showing them how to use a wheel barrel as a lever and pure muscle to to lift a big piece. The youngest kid said “mom, this looks janky as heck”. I replied “it is and its dangerous. we could lose a finger or two so stay sharp and use maximum effort kid”

I love that you would do all this for a reef tank. It is funny the discomfort we will go through for a fish tank, but I always say you can’t help what gives you a happy. This is what life is made of.

Did you wear a hoody in the crawl space?

 

[Victoria M]

Please do not light anything on fire in the drive way. You need this place until you are ready to move again. LOL

 

[Foothill Corals]

Same sand was the issue imo.

This is what I have been thinking also. I'm really surprised no one else has mentioned this, the LFS should have known better.

Sorry for your losses. Moving a tank is always like rolling dice.

Maybe next time you move you can set the 425 up first in your next home and the transfer the contents of the 240 in to it.

 

[Sarah24!]

One step at a time. You will get there. Glad the dust is at least beginning to settle. MIght be a great time for a garage sale!

Hello,

Lol errr garage sale, let’s ponder that for a second ahhh nope I’m thinking huge raging bonfire and roasting marshmallows with sunglasses on lol. Oh wait @Victoria M sugggested not too. I must say I have so many books from college it’s a library. Yet I don’t ever think I’m gonna open them again, since everything is pretty Much outdated now and on line. (That would have saved about 15 good size boxes).

Again I’m at a loss not sure if it was sand or salt that was the straw that broke tweety’s back bone. But im certain what I won’t do next time, 1.) hire a lfs, 2.) use the same sand, 3.) make sure I use the same salt mix. Oh and schedule vacation time during this. Working and moving makes me feel like some has tied my leg behind a go cart and we are hitting every speed bump and curb possible, couple trees, field of rose bushes, another field of poison ivy, it’s bleedin drag.

 

[Sarah24!]

Hello,

So well after a super long day at work which was insanely crazy, I’m now home (well been home for about 1.5 hours), but anyway dilemmas, oh dilemmas.

When I had my tank moved lfs said I have flat worms, and I have flat worm exit. Now that my tank is kinda stable I have to decide when should I use this? Heard horrible stories where the entire tank crashes and kills every thing.

To be fair I don’t even know what to look for, and I can only see them on my candy cane coral if that’s truly what they look like. With my tank size, I could have a lot, which I have to suck as many as possible out.

I had planned on maybe a 70-80 gallon water change, and was told to run carbon. (Now I still dose small amount of nopox, isn’t that basically the same thing). But I had arranged to run a canister filter separately with all three bins with new active carbon.

My issue is I’m already devasted with the losses I have had. Enduring more would be really hard. How does one see them on their rocks, corals etc. I have tried to aka search but again not sure.

 

[Tumey]

Hello,

So well after a super long day at work which was insanely crazy, I’m now home (well been home for about 1.5 hours), but anyway dilemmas, oh dilemmas.

When I had my tank moved lfs said I have flat worms, and I have flat worm exit. Now that my tank is kinda stable I have to decide when should I use this? Heard horrible stories where the entire tank crashes and kills every thing.

To be fair I don’t even know what to look for, and I can only see them on my candy cane coral if that’s truly what they look like. With my tank size, I could have a lot, which I have to suck as many as possible out.

I had planned on maybe a 70-80 gallon water change, and was told to run carbon. (Now I still dose small amount of nopox, isn’t that basically the same thing). But I had arranged to run a canister filter separately with all three bins with new active carbon.

My issue is I’m already devasted with the losses I have had. Enduring more would be really hard. How does one see them on their rocks, corals etc. I have tried to aka search but again not sure.

My goodness Sarah you’re long overdue to catch a break in life! I’ve not had to deal with flatworms myself ( knocking on wood ) but a quick search turned up this info that’s worth the read. https://www.melevsreef.com/articles/how-to-eliminate-flatworms-red-planaria
After looking at images of flatworms available online I wouldn’t think it would be hard to just inspect your tank to see how big their population is. Another option if you’re comfortable with it would be to ask the LFS guys who said you have flatworms to come back & show you exactly what they were seeing. Just like everything else you’ve so graciously overcome, you’ll get through this one too!

 

[Katrina71]

Hello little chick! Don't burn stuff, you'll need a permit. Lol. Flatworm exit could cause an ammonia spike with killing them. I'd definitely get advice here before you attempt anything.