I only did a 25% change, dripped slowly over hours
I only did a 25% change, dripped slowly over hours
I understand what everyone is saying, but what are the chances this IS NOT a bad batch of IO? This canââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢t be human error. Consider these facts Iââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢ve compiled:
1. I was very upset when I first posted, just put down 40% not thinking. The bucket I mixed was 77 litres total. My sumps contain 70 litres. My tank contained 200 litres. 77 litres out of 269 litresââ"šÂ¬Ã‚¦ so it was a 25% water change, not 40. Iââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢ve done changes this big before because I donââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢t have anything THAT sensitive yet, itââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢s doesnââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢t seem to cause any stress on the inhabitants thus far (although youââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢re right, using a new salt brand for the first time is different), and I dripped the new water in over many hours.
2. Except for high phosphates and some nitrates, and the remains of tap water from when I first set up my tank, my tank inhabitants were doing absolutely great until the very second I used this new salt. Feather duster was growing, tang was crazy and brightest yellow Iââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢ve ever seen, shrimp bouncing off the walls, coralline starting to sprout, royal gramma and cardinal very active and healthy. I just wanted to refresh the water before adding my first coral.
3. The LFS, J&L Aquatics, is the mother of all saltwater specialty stores in all of BC, and shouldnââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢t even be called an LFS. They used two different test kits to verify their high results and also checked the expiry datesââ"šÂ¬Ã‚¦ the owner was skeptical at first too. Iââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢ll phoned them tomorrow for the brand, but I know it was a high-end brand, they said. It was using two of their best test kits, the same test kits which show all their other water and salt as being FINE. My same test kit shows my new salt as being FINE, just as it always has.
4. My cardinal went from belly-up to perfectly fine after netting it and plunking it straight into the new salt mix I quickly did up. The new water was with the new salt (alk. 4ââ"šÂ¬Ã‚¦ which is too low now), tap water, and only a little mixing timeââ"šÂ¬Ã‚¦ and it still saved it. Feather duster even started moving around and was resuscitated after plunking straight into the new water. The yellow tang regained its energy and colour immediately after doing a 90% water change in the main tank with the new water. Obviously, a 25%, or a 40% water change couldnââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢t have caused the problem the first time, when a 90% ââ"šÂ¬Ã…"œsloppyââ"šÂ¬Ã‚ water change corrected the problem the second time. The problem could have only been with the first bucket of salt.
5. The new water wasnââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢t cloudyââ"šÂ¬Ã‚¦ the bad salt water was cloudy. It also left an extremely thick coating of a white chalky substance on the side of the mixing bucket. Iââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢m assuming alkalinity wasnââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢t the only thing off.
6. The LR that Iââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢m curing, it was bought from the same place, from a tank using the exact same salt. I got the bad salt bucket at the same time. Put the LR in the new IO salt, tested salinity and temperature, threw in a heater and powerhead, and weeks later Iââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢m noticing bleaching and severe die-off. Itââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢s been two weeks now and the smell is worse than before.
7. Iââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢ve read this forum from beginning to end and I know what Iââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢m doing.
Thanks for everyones support. I'm sure this will be proven in short time.
Randy, could you PM me with your mailing address? I would be more than happy to mail you a sample. How many cups would you like?
Anyone else know of a good place to send it to other than Aquarium Systems and Randy? Maybe Dr. Ron?
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